These Chocolate Bailey's Cupcakes with Rainbow Frosting are the most fun way to celebrate St. Patrick's day! Delicious chocolate cupcakes with a splash of Irish cream are crowned with colorful frosting and gold sprinkles.
Hello friends and HAPPY FRIDAY! Also happy St. Patrick's eve! I'm not usually a big St. Patrick's person, but when this idea popped in my head I just couldn't resist. These Chocolate Bailey's Cupcakes with Rainbow Frosting combine the quintessential Irish creme flavor with a completely ridiculous crowning of rainbow frosting to appease your inner child. And yes, of course they're topped with gold sprinkles. I'm just obsessed with how cute these came out, and the fact that they're also delicious doesn't hurt! 😉
So first of all, yes, chocolate Bailey's cupcakes. These are made with my go-to chocolate cake recipe, except I subbed the ¾ cup of milk... with Irish cream. YUM. The batter is to-die-for, but even when baked, the Irish cream flavor shines through and adds that little something-something that keeps you coming back for more. As for the rainbow frosting... it's really just my traditional buttercream, divided into 7 bowls and turned into a myriad of hues! It's so fun, but of course if you're wanting to go a little more low-key, feel free to keep the frosting white. Just add those little glitter sprinkles on top!
Since I'm the worst food blogger of all time {sorry, hi}, I didn't take pics of the frosting process but here is a link for you! Basically you just color your frosting in however many colors you want. Then you lay down a big piece of saran wrap on your counter, and on top of that you spoon your frosting into lines {basically just like a rainbow!}. Then, roll the saran wrap up into a log, and you put the WHOLE THING into a cake decorating bag already fitted with whatever tip you like. And then, frost away! Seriously, explaining the whole thing makes it sound more confusing than it actually is!
Looking for more St. Patrick's foods? I'm admittedly not too good at this ? But you can check out my St. Patrick's Secret Shamrock Chocolate Bundt Cake, and my Bailey's Cookies {from literally 600 years ago}. If you're just looking for green foods, check out my Avocado Pesto Pasta, Green Pea Soup with Crispy Prosciutto, Rainbow Green Smoothie Bowl, and Creamy Broccoli Pasta! Happy cooking! 🙂
chocolate Bailey's cupcakes with rainbow frosting
Ingredients
- *for the cupcakes*
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cups dark cocoa powder + extra for dusting pans
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cups Bailey's Irish cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- *for the frosting*
- 1 cup {2 sticks} unsalted butter
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoon Bailey's or 1-2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of sat
- food coloring as desired - I used yellow orange, red, green, blue, purple, and pink
- gold sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F, and prepare about 20 cupcake liners in muffin pans.
- In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a measuring cup, mix together Bailey's and vanilla.
- In a stand mixer, at low speed, beat butter and sugar till blended. Increase speed to high and beat for 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- With mixer at low speed, alternatively add the flour mixture and the milk mixture, starting and finishing with the flour. Beat until batter is smooth, occasionally scraping bowl with a spatula. Divide batter evenly among your prepared cups. The cupcake cups I used are larger than standard so I got 14, but you should get more with smaller cups!
- Bake cupcakes for 30-35 min, until top is puffy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
- Now, prepare the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
- Add in the Bailey's or vanilla, then add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Finally add in a sprinkle of salt.
- Divide the frosting into 7 small bowls, and color each as desired.
- Place a large piece of saran wrap on the countertop, and spoon the frosting into a long and skinny line for each color. It should basically look like a straight rainbow (see image below). Carefully roll up the saran wrap and twist the ends tightly.
- Prepare a large decorating bag with a piping tip {I used 1M}, then place the saran wrap roll inside. Pull one of the twisted ends through the open end of the decorating tip, and cut with scissors. Now you can decorate your cupcakes! Pipe frosting as desired and top with gold sprinkles. Enjoy!
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Alyssa Winters says
Hi Valentina, I love chocolates. The cupcakes looks so delicious and tasty. I like this rainbow frosting and I will use it in other recipes as well. Thanks for sharing it.