Woo-hoo! Today is St. Patrick’s Day!!! And as per usual, the last post of my St. Patrick’s Day recipe run features a cupcake. So all you chocolate lovers, you must have the luck of the Irish because these Chocolate Shenanigans Cupcakes are clearly meant for you!
A moist chocolatey malted cake is topped with a decadent rich malted chocolate Irish Cream frosting which is then dusted with Malteser bits. Get out!!!
As I mentioned, I have always ended my St. Patrick’s Day run of recipes with a cupcake offering. Last year it was these decadent Five Farms Irish Cream Cupcakes!
But there were many more of these tempting little treats over the years. Feast your eyes on these:
Phew! That is a lot of St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes! And there are even a few more to be found in my recipe library. If you can’t find a cupcake that appeals to you there, I think maybe you just don’t like cupcakes!
But to be honest, thoughts of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are not likely to conjure up visions of cupcakes. I thinks pubs and pints are more likely what comes to mind. On our most recent trip to Ireland, we definitely darkened the door of quite a few pubs. Indeed one night we ended up in the oldest pub in Dublin, The Brazen Head, which dates all the way back to 1198! Keep in mind, this is not the oldest pub in Ireland. That honor goes to Sean’s Bar located in Athlone, which dates all the way back to 900 AD! But the Brazen Head is Dublin’s oldest. Brass filled and lantern lit, this lively pub oozes old world charm.
Another notable pub we visited was Toners. This cozy, traditional pub is one of Dublin’s oldest, established 1734. It is said the W.B. Yeats would occasionally imbibe here. They boast a lovely beer garden out back for when the weather is good. We found it very friendly and welcoming.
But let me get back to these naughty Chocolate Shenanigan Cupcakes. I’m a sucker for anything malted and these cupcakes not only have a malted cake, but also have malted chocolate Irish Cream frosting as well as crushed and whole Maltesers on top. Maltesers, for the Americans out there, are malted milk balls, which of course, I adore. And they are frosted with not any old frosting, but Swiss Meringue frosting. Another favorite, with its light and silky texture, it puts regular or simple buttercream frosting to shame as far as I’m concerned.
So I guess I would say, you should have all of your shenanigans ready today. You can start with these Malted Chocolate Shenanigan Cupcakes, which are simply perfect for any St. Patrick’s Day shindig you might attend. But you should also have some shenanigans of your own lined up and ready to go. You know, for later in the evening. Can’t wait to hear what you get up to. I wish everyone a safe, healthy and happy holiday! Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daiobh (Happy St. Patrick’s Day)!
Chocolate Shenanigans Cupcakes
recipe slightly adapted from: Pastry Love by Joanne Chang
Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes:
- 210 grams (1 1/2 cups) malted milk powder
- 175 grams (1 1/4 cups) all purpose flour
- 60 grams (1/2 cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted after measuring
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 200 grams ( 1 cup) sugar
- 2 large eggs ( about 100 grams) at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk (about 20 grams) at room temperature
- 110 grams (1/2 cup) vegetable oil (such as canola)
- 240 grams (1 cup) whole milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla bean paste
- Malted Chocolate Irish Cream Frosting (recipe noted below)
- Vanilla Syrup (recipe noted below)
- maltesers candy, crushed for decorating-optional
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325° F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottoms of two regular cupcake pans with cupcake liners. Spray the sides lightly with pan spray or very lightly brush with vegetable oil. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together the malted milk powder, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the sugar, whole eggs and egg yolk on medium high speed until the mixture falls back onto itself in ribbons when you lift the whisk up. Turn the mixer to low and slowly drizzle in the oil. Turn off the mixer and add about one third of the flour mixture. Turn the mixer on to the lowest speed and mix just until most of the flour mixture has been incorporated into the eggs, about 10 seconds. Stop the mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the whisk. Add about half the milk along with the vanilla and turn the mixer back onto the lowest speed. Gently combine until most of the milk is mixed into the batter. stop the mixer and again scrape the bowl and the whisk. Add half the remaining flour mixture; mix on low until it’s mostly mixed in, then stop and scrape. Add the rest of the milk and mix again on low util it is mostly mixed in. Remove the bowl from the mixer , add the last of the flour mixture, and gently fold by hand with a rubber spatula until all of it is incorporated into the batter. Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake tins.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans midway through the baking time, until the cupcakes spring back when you poke them in the middle and a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when you insert it into the middle of the cake. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool in the baking pans on a wire rack.
While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, make the frosting and vanilla syrup and set them aside.
Once the cupcakes are completely cool, remove them from the tins. Using a pastry brush, paint and soak the tops of the cupcakes with the vanilla syrup.
Fit a pastry bag with a large round tip and fill it with the frosting. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle with Malteser bits and edible stars if you desire.
Vanilla Syrup
Ingredients:
- 120 grams (1/2 cup) water
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with the water and bring to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let cool before using.
The syrup can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge indefinitely.
Malted Chocolate Irish Cream Frosting
Ingredients:
- 135 grams (2/3 cup) superfine sugar
- 2 large egg whites ( about 1/4 cup or 60 grams) at room temperature
- 455 grams (2 cups or 4 sticks) unsalted butter
- 420 grams(3 1/2 cups) confectioners sugar
- 105 grams (3/4 cup) malted milk powder
- 75 grams (3/4 cup) sifted dutch process cocoa powder
- 2 – 3 Tablespoons Five Farms Irish Cream (can substitute Baileys)
- pinch of kosher salt
Directions:
In a medium metal of heatproof glass bowl, whisk together the superfine sugar and egg whites to make a thick slurry. Place the bowl over a small pot of simmering water, make sure the pot is small enough the the bowl sits above the water and not directly touching it, or you may end up with scrambled egg whites. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture is hot to the touch, 6 to 8 minutes.
Pour the sugar-egg white mixture into a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium high for 4 to 6 minutes, until the mixture cools. Add the butter bit by bit and whip on medium until the butter is thoroughly incorporated. Add the confectioners’ sugar, malted milk powder, cocoa powder, Five Farms Irish Cream and salt and whip on medium until the frosting is smooth and satiny.
The frosting can be store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Before using, let it sit out at room temperature for at least 6 hours or ideally overnight. Place the frosting in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until it smooths out again. It will look broken (curdled and very lumpy, possibly even separated with some liquid seeping out) for a while until it warms up, but don’t panic – just keep beating it and be patient.
Enjoy!
Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Chocolate Shenanigans Cupcakes:
OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale
Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer
OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop
Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanilla Bean Paste
Travel Planning Guide:
Getting there: Icelandair! We love Icelandair and have always had great experience with them. Icelandair flies to Dublin, Ireland. Take advantage of their Stopover program on your next flight to Europe.
Car Rental: New Way Car Hire – Love the all-inclusive pricing on these cars as well as the Dublin Airport pickup!
Accommodation: Number 31 – This luxurious hotel is half traditional Georgian townhouse and half modernist mews which are connected by a charming courtyard. The Georgian townhouse half is where we have always chosen to stay and we love the mildly eccentric jazz age flamboyance. The location of this decadent hideaway is also superb. It is steps from St. Stephen’s Green in the heart of the city. We would not dream of stying any where else and cannot wait to visit again!
Restaurants/ Cafés/ Bakeries/ Pubs:
Murphy’s Ice Cream – I LOVE Murphy’s Ice Cream! We used to only be able to get it when we visited Dingle, but now they have opened several shops and one is in Dublin, just steps off of Grafton Street! Their ice cream is made with fresh from the farm milk, lots of local cream, free range eggs, and organic sugar. No colourings, flavourings, or powdered milk. My favorite flavor, though it is so hard to choose because they are all so exquisite, is probably Brown Bread.
Xi’an Street Food – Modern Asian Cuisine with authentic & bold flavours from Xi’an region in China. Looking for late night takeaway while visiting Dublin, or a delicious meal anytime for that matter, this is the place.
The Brazen Head Pub – dates all the way back to 1198! Mind you the date of 1653 is what has been officially documented for this establishment. The current building dates to 1754. We visited on a Friday night and it was jammers. Pints were all we sampled, though we understand the pub grub here is definitely respectable.
Toners Pub-This cozy, traditional pub is one of Dublin’s oldest, established 1734. It is said the W.B. Yeats would occasionally imbibe here. They boast a lovely beer garden out back for when the weather is good. We found it very friendly and welcoming. Though laid back and relaxed when we visited, we understand that if there is a big sporting event going on, we understand the place can be absolutely mad!
Bar 1661 – Voted Ireland’s Bar of the Year in 2022! My favorite cocktail bar full stop! Not just in Ireland, but everywhere! Folks, if you are visiting Dublin and you like cocktails at all, this is an absolute must!!! The ambiance is in point, not to mention the historical significance as well as the absolute enthusiasm everyone there has for crafting exceptional cocktails! I will say, make sure you book a reservation. You do not want to miss this!
The Porterhouse -This large airy brewpub offers a wide selection of ales, lagers and stouts. It has a fun, folksy atmosphere and often you can catch some live music. They serve some tasty pub grub as well and some of the best chips I’ve had in Dublin.
The Old Storehouse – The Old Storehouse is a great venue, kind of like three different pubs all rolled into one. They’ve got the cozy, intimate snug area, the lively main bar and then Flaherty’s Pub downstairs for bands. They also have a lovely covered outside area.
Attractions:
The National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology – ( Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann – Seandálaíocht), often known as the “NMI”, located on Kildare Street in Dublin specialises in Irish and other antiquities dating from the Stone Age to the Late Middle Ages. The NMI’s collection contains artifacts from prehistoric Ireland including bog bodies, Iron and Bronze Age objects such as axe-heads, swords and shields in bronze, silver and gold, with the earliest dated to c. 7000 BC. It holds the world’s most substantial collection of post-Roman era Irish medieval art. In addition, it houses a substantial collection of medieval metalwork, Viking artefacts including swords and coins, and classical objects from Ancient Egypt, Cyprus and the Roman World.
TradFest – TradFest is a joyful celebration of Irish identity through music. Each January, it showcases the best of established and emerging musical talent at a landmark festival which is rooted in the historic and atmospheric setting of Temple Bar, Dublin’s cultural quarter. Over 50 live music concerts take place in some of the best pubs in Temple Bar, as well as key historical landmarks in Dublin.
Dublin Castle – 13 Century castle. Today Irish Govenment and Conference Center.
Grafton Street – One of the principal shopping streets in the city center. Mostly pedestrianised and lined with many cafes, shops and street performers.
Temple Bar- Busy riverside neighborhood with many pubs, restaurants and quirky boutiques.
Guinness Storehouse – Learn about the history of Ireland’s most iconic beer over seven floors. Enjoy 360 degree views of the city from the Gravity Bar!
Lea & Jay 
I’m still thinking about the Irish Cream…