Irish coffee in bed

The Irish were onto something when they mixed coffee and whiskey together…or Joe Sheridan was anyway. As legend has it, he created the Irish coffee at Foyness Port in Ireland, where he was a chef, for a weary American traveler delayed at the airport. The rest, as they say, is history.

If you didn’t know chocolate, coffee, and whiskey play really well together, so with that along with the infamous Irish hot beverage, was the inspiration for these cupcakes. In this recipe, I’m using the Baileys dairy-free alternative for the Irish cream affect, but feel free to use the whiskey that you have on hand instead.

Here’s to you- cheers!

Skill Level- Intermediate (but only because of the Swiss Meringue Buttercream

EQUIPMENT

• Cupcake tin(s)

• Cupcake liners

• Hand or stand mixer (you need the stand mixer if making the Swiss Meringue Buttercream)

• Scale (if using- you should! )

• Two large bowls- if not using a stand mixer (one for cupcakes, one for buttercream)

• One  small saucepan

• Cooling rack

• Whisk + spatula

• Sifter

• Spoons or ice cream scooper

  
  Makes- between 12-13 cupcakes

PRODUCTS USED

Links provided below-

• King Arthur All Purpose Flour- Any all purpose flour will do, King Arthur is just my preference. If you only have cake flour on hand, you can use that too!

• Equal Exchange Organic Baking Cocoa - this powder is alkalized (a chemical process) to make chocolate taste, well, more chocolatey. I’m not going to sugar coat it…there is ALOT wrong with the chocolate industry that I will not even begin to go into here… it’s tricky to try to do the right thing because big corps often cover up their true actions. That’s why I do the best I can to support a positive chocolate working environment which I believe this company is doing. HOWEVER we cannot fight all the battles so if you can only find or afford certain cocoa powders, please just do what’s best for you. I will say, it is worth taking a look at if you’re interested. LEARN A BIT MORE HERE

• Miyoko’s or Violife- Up until a couple of months ago I was a real ride-or die Flora butter fan, but unfortunately they stopped production here in the U.S. It’s a bummer, but I also really enjoy Violife and Miyoko’s ( Melt too, but not so much for buttercream, tbh). I’m using unsalted butter these days because I can get my hands on it again (and it’s the preference in baking) BUT if you can only find salted butter, that’s fine. Reducing the amount of salt by 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon will usually do the trick, but all butters are salted differently so it’s hard to say exactly. It also depends on the salt you’re using (see below regarding this). All that being said, feel free to use whatever butter is your favorite, affordable and/ or readily available to you (I’ll be honest tho, I reeaaally hate the way Earth Balance makes my baked goods taste…sorry).

• Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt- the chef’s salt (for various reasons) that I won’t get into here. The important thing to note is that it contains 53% less sodium than standard salt, so that’s why I say to use half the amount the recipe calls for if you’re using Morton, sea, or table salt.

• Domino Sugar- now, this is a tricky one… my supplier list it as vegan and Domino itself has stated in the past that the sugar coming from Baltimore, MD, Yonkers, NY or South Bay, FL are all vegan, but at the time (this was around 2017), the supplies coming from west coast were not. It’s been 5 years since they made this statement, so I suspect that it’s all vegan by now. However, I haven’t had the chance to confirm this, so take this information with a grain of salt (or sugar). Bottom line- if you’re a distrustful vegan (aren’t we all?) go for organic instead. Just try to get the finest grain you can- your baking results will be much better.

• Silk Unsweetened Organic Soy Milk- what type of plant milk doesn’t really matter too much in this recipe, just make sure it’s unsweetened.

• Baileys Almande- To make this a true Irish coffee situation, whiskey is needed. However I have a big bottle of the Almande (made from Almonds, of coarse) on hand so I decided to use it. If you don’t have the Bailey's on hand and want to make this an adult cupcake or have a nut allergy, I think I’d go for the whiskey tbh. But don’t get me wrong, it’s lovely that Bailey’s has given us a dairy-free alternative.

  
  

Notes

Dutch-Processed Cocoa- Cocoa is a little complicated and I am not an expert on the subject, so I won’t do a deep dive here- I’ll just say that I like to use dutch-processed or alkalized cocoa in the recipe. Dutch processed cocoa is a chemical process to reduce the acidity in cocoa powder while natural or non-alkalized cocoa (more commonly sold as unsweetened cocoa powder) has not been chemically altered, just roasted. Dutch-processed cocoa powder is less bitter and has a richer, deeper chocolatey flavor, so I prefer to use it in this recipe… but both work here.

Almond Liqueur/ Tequila - Both work in this recipe. The Almond liqueur will give a slight added layer of sweetness to the cupcakes and buttercream, while the whiskey just hits you with a warm smokiness. If you prefer an alcohol free cupcake, you can totally leave it out…you’ll just have a chocolate coffee cupcake with vanilla buttercream. Still delicious.

Coffee/Espresso Powder- I tend to use coffee often when baking chocolate…to me the chocolate taste richer, deeper, and more chocolatey. Here I use both hot coffee (I prefer a dark roast) and espresso powder for a deep coffee flavor.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMB)- Look, I’m a buttercream/ frosting girl... they all taste pretty good to me, however I do like the silky smooth, not too cloying sweetness of a SMB. Traditionally, it is made by combining egg whites and sugar, heated to a syrup like consistency. Here, we use aquafaba (aka chickpea juice) as our egg replacer. Aquafaba is a pretty magical thing that is commonly used in vegan baking- it works well as a replacer because of the proteins in the liquid (it even looks a lot like egg whites). SMB is not a hard buttercream to make, but it does take a bit of time and finesse. In my opinion, it really should only be done with a stand mixer, but I’m sure there are those out there who have made it work with a hand mixer. If you don’t have a stand mixer or you don’t want to do the aquababa thing, I will provide an alternative American-style buttercream as well as an optional sub.

Butter- Unless your recipe calls for melted or cold butter (some do), you’ll most likely want yours to be room temp.  You know your butter is room temp when you can easily make an indent with your finger (eww, I know) or a spoon into the butter.  It should be soft and pliable, but not runny or melty.  If you forget to take the butter out to come to room temp, you can use the microwave to make it happen quickly, but it can be a bit tricky and go melty fast on you- especially vegan butter because it’s made of more water than the traditional stuff. So use the quick microwave method with caution (In a pinch, do short 10 second bursts in the microwave and flip the butter often so it doesn't start to melt on one side.  If your butter goes soft and runny, just pop it back into the refrigerator for about 5 minutes).  All in all, best to leave it out to soften naturally.  As for the type of butter, if you can’t find unsalted vegan butter (the baking preference), try reducing the salt in the recipe by ¼  to ½  -  it’s hard to say exactly because the amount of salt will vary from butter to butter, but experiment with your fave and see what works best for you.

Salt- Diamond Crystal Kosher is my preference, but if you use Morton or table salt, reduce the amount by half as Diamond is less salty than the two.

Sugar-To make sure it’s vegan, use organic as it does not use bone char (yes, it’s as bad as it sounds) in the processing like conventional sugar typically does.

Oil- Along with milk, serves as our egg replacer. Butter is flavor, but oil helps with moisture retention after the dough is baked.

Measuring- Listen… just go ahead and get a scale! They’re cheap and the most accurate for baking. I use them to develop my recipes and do the best I can to convert to the cup measurements out of courtesy to those who don’t have one, but trust me, if you like to bake- get one. It will be the best $20 dollars you spend to improve your recipes. If you still refuse, make sure that you use the scoop and level method to measure out your flour to avoid using more than the recipe calls for.

T= tablespoon   tsp= teaspoon  C= cup   g= gram   ml= milliliter   pinch= around ⅛  of a teaspoon

INGREDIENTS: CUPCAKES

• 180 g ( 1 ½ C ) all-purpose flour

• 30 g ( about 4 T) unsweetened cocoa ( I prefer dutch processed or a mix, but use what you have)

• ¾   tsp. baking soda

• ¼  tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. kosher salt (I use Diamond, half the amount if using Morton)s

• 100 g  (½  C )  superfine or granulated sugar (organic, vegan-friendly)

• 100 g  ( ½ C )  dark brown sugar (organic, vegan-friendly)

• 80 ml (⅓ C)  plant milk  ( room temp, I used extra creamy oat)

• 2 T Baileys Almande Liqueur or whiskey

• 1 T  vinegar (white or apple cider)

• 79 ml (⅓ C) brewed coffee, hot- can sub with hot water

• 80 ml (⅓  C )oil (neutral, I like grapeseed)

• 3.3 g (2 tsp.) instant coffee or espresso powder 

• 1 T vanilla extract (pure)

INGREDIENTS: SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

• 300 g  (1½ C) superfine or granulated sugar

• 170 g (about 15 oz. can worth)  aquafaba ( chickpea liquid)

• ¼  tsp. cream of tartar

• 400 g ( 1¾ C + 1 tbsp )  vegan butter, cubed, room temp

• 2- 4 T  Baileys Almande Liqueur or whiskey

• ½  tsp. vanilla extract

• pinch of kosher salt (can leave out if using salted butter)

  
  
  

INGREDIENTS: COFFEE COCOA DUST

• 1 tsp. dutch-processed cocoa (sifted)

• ½  tsp. espresso powder

• ½  tsp. powdered/confectioner sugar (sifted)

RECIPE PREP

• Bring  milk to room temp

• Add vinegar to milk (let set about 5 minutes)

• Drain one can of chickpeas, reserving the liquid (save the chickpeas for another recipe)

• Line cupcake tins

• Bring butter to room temp

• Make coffee if you don’t have any on hand

The More You Know… look for the *💡*for tips in the directions 👇🏾 to help ensure your recipe comes out perfect, every time!

DIRECTIONS: CUPCAKES

Preheat oven to 350° F/ 177 ° C

1. If you haven’t done so already, add the vinegar to your room temperature milk- set aside until ready to use.  *💡* Adding vinegar to milk gives us a substitute for buttermilk.  Our vegan buttermilk helps us out in a few ways… mainly,  giving our cake a more delicate crumb and texture,  providing a slight tang that will counterbalance the sweetness of the cupcake, and  reacting with our leavening agent (baking soda) to help the cupcakes to rise. 

2. To a large bowl, add both granulated and brown sugars, vanilla, and oil.  Whisk the mixture together until pretty well incorporated.  *💡* You are not trying to really cream this mixture like you would butter and sugar, just get it pretty well mixed together.

3. Sift in cocoa powder and add espresso powder (if using), and the salt into the bowl, then pour in the hot coffee- mix well until you get something that looks a bit like melted chocolate (see the first pic below).  *💡*  We are using the hot coffee to bloom the cocoa powder, meaning, we are using hot liquid to extract, intensify, and deepen the  flavor of the cocoa.

4. Now that you have your chocolatey mixture, sift in the flour, baking soda, and baking powder-  whisk together until nicely combined and looking a little bit like brownie batter.  *💡* We want a well incorporated mixture, but we also want to take care not to over mix our batter- over mixing can lead to a tough cupcake which is not what we are going for, so mix just until your batter looks like one homogenous mix with no dry spots or patches.

5. Pour the milk and Bailey’s (or whiskey) into the batter (by now the milk should be curdled), then give it a final mix.   With a spatula, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything gets incorporated in the final mix..  Again, do not over mix.

6. With an ice cream scoop or spoons, fill tins 1/2 of the way with batter.  *💡*  Filling half way with this batter will ensure that your cupcakes do not spill over.  If you’re a stickler for perfection, this is about 45- 48 grams of batter per cupcake.

7. Place cupcakes on the middle rack and bake for 19-21 minutes (depending on your oven and your pan color ) or until tops spring back when pressed and a toothpick comes out ( mostly ) clean, with a few crumbs-cupcakes continue to cook after they come out of the oven.  *💡*  I’ve come to learn that it’s best not to rely on cooking times when following a recipe.  Why, you ask?  Well, because as mentioned before, it depends on different factors such as oven type and pan color, but also how your oven is calibrated.  Your oven may be reading as  350° but if you were to stick a thermometer in to read the temp, it might tell you a different story.  Ovens are also often different temperatures in different areas, so yeah… there's  a lot of factors.  It’s best to look for visual (and often olfactory) cues to know that your baked goods are done. Gently moving the pan to see if the batter is jiggly, lightly pressing the tops with your finger to see if it springs back, and the tried and true toothpick test are all good ways to know when it’s time to remove your cakes from the oven.

8. Remove cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then remove from the baking pan and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.

Top Tip

Know when your cakes and cupcakes are done

Yes, you’re following the recipe to the T, but unfortunately there are lots of factors that can affect when your cakes are done. Here are a few ways to help you know when your cakes and cupcakes are good to go!

1. They have risen. Ok, I know, duh…but it must be said. Vegan baked goods don’t typically rise as well as a recipe with eggs, but we are still looking for a bit of a rise.

2. There is no jiggly batter when you gently move your pan.

3. You can gently press the tops and the cake springs back into shape.

4. An inserted toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs on it and no liquid.

5. It smells insanely good! This is often a good sign your cakes are done…I would however do at least one other test above to make sure.
   
   
   

DIRECTIONS: SWISS MERIGNGUE BUTTERCREAM

We want the butter to be just room temp for this recipe.  It shouldn’t be hard and you should be able to easily make an indent in it with the back of a spoon or your finger.  We definitely DO NOT want any type of melty situation, though.  If your butter goes too far, just pop it back in the fridge for a couple of minutes.  *💡*  How quickly your butter comes to room temperature varies a bit with the vegan variety…I find that Miyoko’s, Violife, and Flora are the most like traditional butter, while some others like Melt soften super quickly ( I mean come on, it says it in the name!).

The amount of buttercream you are about to make is enough to top 12-13 cupcakes with a generous amount of buttercream.  If you’re not a frosting person and only like a little, you could get away with halving the recipe.

If you’re not keen on making this Swiss Meringue style buttercream, see below for the American-style substitute.

1. Place a small or medium-sized saucepan on medium-high heat and add in aquafaba liquid. 

2. Let the liquid come to a low boil and cook for about 1 minute.

3. Add in the sugar and mix thoroughly. Let the mixture cook another 2 to 3 minutes until the sugar fully dissolves and the liquid has thickened slighly and is a bit tacky to the touch-  be careful if you touch the liquid…it can burn you! *💡*Aquafaba or the bean water found in the can of a can of chickpeas is used as our egg white replacer in vegan Swiss Meringue buttercream.  See “Notes” about SMB above to learn a bit more.

4. Carefully pour the hot liquid into the stand mixer bowl. *💡*If you’re worried about this hot liquid melting the butter, it’s ok…several minutes of mixing will bring the temperature down to a comfortable room temp.

5. With the whisk attachment, mix on medium-low and add in cream of tartar and let mix for a minute to incorporate.

6. Turn the mixer up to high speed (about an 8 on my Kitchen Aid) and let the mixture whisk for 10- 12 minutes or until it becomes white, smooth, and glossy.  *💡* The mixture will look sort of like a mix between soft peaks and marshmallow fluff…it’s going to be thick so that it holds the lines when you drag the whisk through it, but it’s not going to hold a peak on the whisk either (see step one below).

7. Change out the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment and turn your mixer on at a low speed.

8. While the mixer is going, add in the butter one cube at a time and let it mix for about 10 seconds in between each addition, until all the butter is added.

9. Ok, now don’t panic.  Just know that your beautiful, glossy mixture is going to look like it is broken and ruined- it’s not (see step two below).  Just turn the mixer back up to high speed  and let it mix for another 3-4 minutes or until the mixture has come back together and looks fluffy and silky (see step three below). *💡* It’s good practice to take a silicon or rubber spatula and scrape down the sides and bottom of your mixing bowl- this will ensure that there are no bits of butter that have not fully incorporated into the buttercream.

10. Start with 1 tablespoon of Bailey’s or whiskey, a pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter), and the vanilla- mix again until well combined and smooth (see step four below).  Taste to see how you like and adjust as needed-add more Bailey’s if you like. *💡* I usually add about 4 tablespoons of Baileys, but that may be too much of the whiskey…like I said, start slowly and add to suit your taste.  Just don’t add too much to make your buttercream too runny.  If not using alcohol you can sub with vegan heavy cream, plant milk, or coffee.  You may want to add more vanilla too.

11. In a small bowl,  cocoa, powder sugar, and add in the espresso powder- mix and set aside.

12. I like to pipe my buttercream on, but if you don’t want to or don’t have piping tips or bags, feel free to dollop on the buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes instead.  *💡* Another cute option is to use an ice cream scoop to dollop on the buttercream…and if you’ve got some straws sitting around, cut them in half and stick in the buttercream like a drink!

13. Top the frosted cupcakes with a light dusting of the coffee cocoa mixture with a small sifter or sieve. 

14. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS: AMERICAN-STYLE BUTTERCREAM

• 420 g (3 1/2 C ) confectioner/powdered sugar (sifted)

• 227 g (1 C ) vegan butter (softened, unsalted preferred)

• 2- 4 T  Baileys Almande Liqueur or whiskey

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• pinch of salt (can leave out if using salted butter)

DIRECTIONS: AMERICAN-STYLE BUTTERCREAM

1. In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the room temp butter on medium-low speed with a paddle attachment for 4-5 minutes so that butter becomes soft and fluffy.  If you want nice silky buttercream, don’t skip this step.

2. Slowly mix in sifted powdered sugar into butter mixture with a spoon or spatula (so the sugar doesn’t fly everywhere).  Continue to mix on low until the sugar has incorporated and not flying around, turn the mixer up to medium and beat for 2-3 minutes more.

3. Add in1 tablespoon of the Baileys or whiskey (or plant milk or cream if skipping the alcohol), vanilla extract,  and a pinch of salt  then mix for another 1-2 minutes or until buttercream is soft and fluffy- medium-high speed.  *💡* If using the whiskey, add in a tablespoon or two of plant cream or milk to add a bit of creaminess that you miss by not using the Baileys.  You can add more alcohol, but I suggest starting with 1 tablespoon to see where your taste lies…also keep in mind the consistency of the buttercream…too much liquid will result in a runny buttercream.

4. Scrape down your bowl’s sides and bottom to make sure that all the buttercream ingredients are well combined and mix for another 30 seconds.

5. Pipe or dollop the buttercream on the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle a light dusting of coffee cocoa powder over the tops with a strainer or sieve.

6. Enjoy!

Storage and Use

1. Store cupcakes in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

2. When ready to eat, unless you like cold cupcakes, bring them to room temp about 30 minutes before eating.

This recipe has a few steps, but all in all, it’s pretty easy. If you have the time, try them out- I hope you enjoy!

You are amazing! Thank you for being here,

xx Debbie, Shorty, + Sophie