What's better than a four-leaf clover?

I know I'm in the minority when I say that I just don't like beer. In fact, I don't believe that I have ever been able to consume one single bottle or full glass of beer. Gin has always been my spirit of choice. My husband Kevin on the other hand, is an avid beer fan - Guinness being one of his favorites.

Now I have heard that stout beer, when paired with chocolate really enhances the flavor and what better time to test out this theory than for St. Patrick's Day?

Oh, did I mention that this recipe also has buttercream frosting made with Baileys Irish Creme? Muhahaha...

The original recipe, (which you can view on www.smittenkitchen.com) also contains a little pocket of ganache, which I omitted since I did not have any whiskey on hand.

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Baileys Irish Buttercream
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For cupcakes:

• 1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream

  For frosting:

• 3 to 4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys Irish Creme

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth.

Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes. I used a piping bag with tip, though a plastic bag with the corner snipped off works just as well.