Guinness Cupcakes

What could possibly make a cupcake any better? A cupcake with beer. And not any beer, GUINNESS. Given that Reba and I spent the better part of the last few years at the Druid, it was only appropriate to have her and Andy's engagement party there. And as if we weren't getting enough Guinness from the bar, these cupcakes really topped it off. The cream cheese frosting even makes them look like mini pints of Guinness.

Chocolate & Guinness Cupcakes

1 (12 oz) bottle of Guinness
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup cocoa (Ghirardelli!)
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix the Guinness, milk, oil, and vanilla.

3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the sour cream.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, sugar, and baking soda.

5. Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the Guinness mixture. The batter will seem a bit soupy and you may have to use a ladle to pour the batter into the cupcake tins.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup cream (heavy or light)
~2-3 cups confectioners sugar

1. Beat the cream cheese until fluffy

2. Add the cream

3. Add the sugar. I like my cream cheese frosting tangy and cheesy, add more sugar if you like it sweet and/or to thicken the frosting a bit.

*The frosting will not be very thick, add sugar until it thickens a bit more if you need to. Otherwise, if you can, put the frosting in the fridge for a couple of hours and it'll thicken a bit. When frosting the cupcakes, put a large dallop on top and try to avoid getting too close to the edges, the frosting may run a bit and if you keep it right on top, it probably won't run off the cake.