March 16, 2011

Pot O'Gold Cupcakes



Tomorrow is St Patrick's Day and we will have our traditional corned beef, potatoes, and something green - I love cabbage but the rest of the family does not.  Somehow bok choy seems a little strange for an Irish dinner, but I just go with the flow.

Recently there have been some wonderful recipes for  cupcakes with a St. Patick's Day theme -  Irish Coffee Cupcakes by 52 Kitchen Adventures, St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes by Susi's Kochen Und Backen Adventures, and Guinness Cupcakes by My Baking Addiction, to name a few.  All sound so good, and I have bookmarked them so that I can try them soon.  I couldn't decide on one, so I took a little something from all of them and came up with Pot O'Gold Cupcakes.

As much as I love chocolate cupcakes I wanted to make a basic yellow cupcake, so I used a tried and true recipe from Martha Stewart. A good friend of mine brought back a jar of Ladurée Caramel au beurre salé for me when she went to Paris last year, and I have been saving it for a special occasion.  I am always torn when I get gifts like this because on the one hand want to use it, but I also want to save it because I can't replace it.  I decided that this was a good time to break that seal and enjoy the contents.  The caramel is so thick and delicious, so after I made the cupcakes I cut a small portion from the top and filled them with the caramel.  A buttercream frosting seemed to be the perfect topping, so I went with it, and added Bailey's® Irish Cream in a caramel flavor as a little something extra. I may have gone a little overboard with the Bailey's®, so I adjusted it in the recipe below.  




Well, I think that I may have just found the Pot O'Gold at the end of the rainbow. Happy St. Patrick's Day!  And remember, many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers. 




Pot O'Gold Cupcakes
(Printer Friendly Version)

Ingredients

Cupcakes:
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
Frosting:
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 3 tablespoons Bailey's® Irish Cream (I used the caramel flavor) 
  • 1 tablespoon cream
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
 
Cupcakes:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Line the cups of a standard (12-cup) muffin tin with paper or foil liners.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
  4. In a liquid-measuring cup, mix milk and vanilla; set aside. 
  5. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
  6. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
  7. With mixer on low speed, add half of dry ingredients, followed by milk-vanilla mixture, then remaining dry ingredients. Do not overmix. 
  8. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. 
  9. Place tin on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
  10. Cool cupcakes 5 minutes in tin, then remove and cool completely on a rack before frosting.
Frosting:
  1. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat unsalted butter, confectioners' sugar, cream, Bailey's, and vanilla extract until smooth.
  2. Mix in up to 1/2 cup more sugar or a few more teaspoons of milk as necessary to achieve a spreadable consistency. 
  3. Makes enough for 12 cupcakes. 
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

26 comments:

  1. They look delicious. I love the name, too: like something out of Rumplestiltskin! We can taste the caramel from here. Lovely photos, as usual.

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  2. These are so delightful!!! I want some!!

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  3. Very cute, and very perfect for St. Patrick's Day. I've seen a lot of Guinness/stout cakes and Bailey's whoopie pies this year, but this is the first "Pot O'Gold" I've seen. Love the caramel + Bailey's flavor combination!

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  4. These are just darling. I could go for one right about now...for breakfast ;)
    Christina xo

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  5. I love your combo of Bailey's Caramel and your treasured Ladurée Caramel au beurre salé . Your cupcakes are gorgeous. Happy St Pat's day!

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  6. Wow, the flavors in this cupcake sound amazing! I wish I had a jar of Laduree caramel!

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  7. I love the idea of the Pot O'Gold cupcakes, especially with that bit of treasured caramel! Slainte!

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  8. Hopping the next rainbow for one of these delicious Pot O' Golds. Happy St Patrick's Day!

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  9. Beautiful, clean and delicious looking cupcakes! Love how you made them, and I love your photos too!

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  10. Beautiful, festive cupcakes! I really need to get that little gadget to make filled cupcakes :)

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  11. adorable cupcakes! I bet the frosting/filling is to die for with the baileys mixed in :D

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  12. YUM! The cupcakes look great and that caramel sauce sounds incredible. I looks like you have a cupcake corer! I have one too and I LOVE it!!

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  13. Great photos and really good recipe. That caramel is the bomb diggity!

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  14. Wow these cupcakes look delicious! I love the sound of that caramel sauce!

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  15. Lovely dessert for St.Patty's Day. I actually had a cupcake with Bailey's frosting today. It was so good! I'm sure this is just as if not more better

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  16. Uhh I so so so love the surprise inside these cupcakes!

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  17. Simply delicious and really pretty! Love Bailey's!!!!

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  18. OOOH, they look so yummy! I am saving this recipe !

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  19. Pure gold indeed! I love that Martha recipe too; I always use it as a base to play around with...great take on it!

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  20. Your cupcakes look fantastic. Love the caramel center. I bet it tasted divine with that caramel Bailey's buttercream. Hope you have a wonderful Friday :o)

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  21. Love the idea of the caramel on the inside, and the name of these. super cute :)

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  22. This cupcakes are perfect for St. Patrick's Day! :)

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  23. These cupcakes sound wonderful, the irish cream in the frosting takes the cake for me!

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  24. Oh my goodness...that filling is TO DIE FOR! Lovely cupcakes and they are tempting me!

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  25. I love cupcakes, and that filling sounds absolutely delicious! Can I have 4 or 5 please!
    sigh, now I'm hungry and I want those cupcakes!
    mmmm, caramel

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