Double Decker Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with White Chocolate Icing

Happy St. Patrick's Day! A day for all the Irish to get drunk without an excuse... as if they don't do that in the first place! At least that's what my Dad says, and as a fully fledged Irishman, I believe him. As a half Irish person, I really should see the draw of St. Paddy's Day but I've never quite gotten into it as much as I probably could. It's probably something to do with not investing in my Irish heritage very much.

I'm unlike my sister, in that way. She loves her Irish heritage. She supports the Irish rugby team, watches the hurling and even owns a Bodhran, which is some kind of Irish drum. She can't play it, but she owns it, which is more than I can say for anything Irish! The other thing she does, that I really can't get on with in any way, is drinking Guinness.

I hate Guinness. It's far too rich and the smell, quite frankly, insults my nose. It was my least favourite drink to pour when I briefly worked in a pub because getting the head on it just right was a royal pain in the butt. I never mastered it, and I never came to like the drink at all.

So it came as a real surprise to me when I tried my first bite of a chocolate Guinness cake and discovered that it tasted absolutely delicious. I wanted to dislike it so much to maintain my hatred of it and make a point (what point, I don't know), but I couldn't do it. I had to admit that just for once, Guinness tasted good. For that simple reason alone, I had to share my own Double Decker Chocolate Guinness Cupcake recipe with you, made even better with a generous swirl of white chocolate icing on top.

INGREDIENTS

For the sponge:
175g butter, softened
175g caster sugar
2 eggs
250ml Guinness
180g self raising flour
20g cocoa powder

For the white chocolate icing:
125g butter, softened
300g~ icing sugar, sieved
200g white chocolate

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 170˚C. In a large bowl, soften the butter then add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy and pale in colour. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in well. Add the Guinness. If you want a richer, stronger Guinness flavour then add more, but be careful your mixture doesn't become too wet. Add the flour and cocoa powder, beating hard until the mixture is like a mousse in texture. Grease a muffin tin and place a large tablespoon and a half of the mixture in each case, so each one is 3/4 full. Put in the oven for 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

When cool enough to remove from the tin, leave on a wire cooling rack and make the icing. Melt the white chocolate. It's up to you whether you do this in the microwave or in a bowl over boiling water on the hob. Once melted, set aside and let cool a little. In another bowl, soften the butter. Add the icing sugar (you may not need all 300g, or you may need more. I rarely actually weigh out icing sugar, just add it until I'm satisfied with the consistency) 2-3 heaped tbsp at a time until it is fluffy and holds in stiff peaks when you pull the spoon/whisk/your-favourite-utensil up. Add the melted white chocolate, mixing in well. Add more icing sugar if needed.

Check your cakes are cool. If they are, cut off any uneven peaks so they are completely flat on both top and bottom, then flip half of them over so what was the top becomes the bottom. On these, spread a layer of the icing, then place the a non-flipped sponge on top. Once you've done them all, put the rest of the icing into a piping bag with a Wilton 2D tip (flower nozzle). Pipe a generous, tall tower of icing on top of each sponge.

These cakes are truly amazing. The addition of the Guinness makes them taste like a dark chocolate sponge, sweetened by the white chocolate icing inside and on top. There's no need to worry that you'll be overwhelmed by the taste of alcohol either. The Guinness blends perfectly with the chocolate flavour, and a lot of its kick has cooked away to leave behind a nice, rich taste.

Another reason I love these cakes is for the way they look. The big spiral of icing on top of the chocolate sponge reminds me so much of the head of a pint of a Guinness sitting over the dark liquid below. They're a perfect nod to Ireland's famed, and favourite, drink. If you're like me and aren't a big Guinness fan, these are perfect for you. You can see the Guinness in their appearance and taste its intensity in the sponge, but aren't being kicked in the teeth by it or getting drunk either.

I'd be happy to serve these at any St Paddy's celebration to soak up the flowing drink, and I'm sure my Irish Dad, and you, would find them a great alternative to a proper pint!

What are you doing this St. Patrick's Day? Are you a Guinness lover or hater?