Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes

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These Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes are made with a moist chocolate cupcake, Baileys chocolate ganache filling and Baileys frosting! One of my favorite flavor combos – these cupcakes are delicious!

Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes
Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes recipe

So recently I’ve gotten a little bug. Not like a sick bug, but like I want to do things bug. And right now the focus of that bug is doing things around our house. All of a sudden I want to paint everything, change everything on the walls and get all new furniture. Basically just re-do it all. 🙂

Problem is, who can afford to just re-do their whole house on a whim? So I’ve started with some painting. Some parts of the house have been painted, but much has remained unpainted. So I started getting swatches and testing paints a couple weeks ago for our dining room. If you’ve ever chosen paint, you know how painful it can be. Especially when looking at shades of grey. I was lamenting to the hubs that there are so many shades of grey that it’s hard to pick one and he got all clever and said, “Yea, I hear there’s like 50 shades.”

Ha!

Well I finally picked one and painted over the weekend. I’m feeling pretty snazzy and ready for my next project! 🙂

Best Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes
Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes with ganache filling

How to Make Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes

But for now, let’s talk about these cupcakes. For the Baileys and chocolate lover, they really are yummy! The cupcake base in moist and fluffy, the filling is rich, chocolatey and smooth – and flavored with Baileys – and the frosting is the Baileys icing on the cake! 😉

The cupcake base is relatively straight forward as far as method and ingredients. It uses the creaming method, so you want to be sure to fully cream the butter and sugar together. You’ll get a much fluffier cupcake that way. Be sure the mixture lightens in color and gets thick and fluffy.

The filling is your basic chocolate ganache with some Baileys in place of some of the heavy whipping cream. It’s super smooth and rich! So good! It firms up a little quicker than regular ganache since the Baileys has less fat than the heavy cream, so don’t be too concerned.

To finish off the cupcake, there’s the Baileys frosting. It’s hard to not just eat it with a spoon! It’s got just a touch of chocolate in it and plenty of Baileys. I used my usual combination of butter and shortening, since I prefer the more stabile consistency, but feel free to use all butter if you like.

These cupcakes were a hit! Moist, fluffy, rich and yummy! Perfect for a Saturday night or any occasion. 🙂

Homemade Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes recipe
Easy Baileys Cupcakes with chocolate ganache

Watch How To Make These

Read Transcript

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Recipe

Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes

  • Author: Life, Love and Sugar
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 17 minutes
  • Total Time: 47 minutes
  • Yield: 12-14 Cupcakes
  • Category: Cupcakes
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes made with chocolate cupcake, Baileys chocolate ganache filling & Baileys frosting! These cupcakes are delicious!


Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

  • 1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup (207g) sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 6 tbsp (90ml) water
  • 6 tbsp (43g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 6 tbsp (90ml) milk

Baileys Frosting

  • 1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (95g) shortening
  • 4 cups (460g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp (14g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 45 tbsp (60-75ml) Baileys Irish Cream
  • Chocolate sprinkles

Baileys Chocolate Ganache

  • 8 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 5 tbsp (75ml) Baileys Irish Cream
  • 5 tbsp (75ml ) heavy whipping cream

Instructions

To Make the Chocolate Cupcakes

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
  2. Beat butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add eggs one at a time, beating just until blended. Set creamed mixture aside.
  4. In another bowl, add vanilla, water and cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Mixture will be thick.
  5. Add chocolate mixture to batter and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
  6. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
  7. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the batter. Begin by adding half of the dry mix, then mix well. Add the milk and mix well, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until smooth.
  8. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.
  9. Allow cupcakes to cool about 2-3 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

To Make the Baileys Frosting

  1. Combine the butter and shortening in a large bowl and mix until smooth.
  2. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  3. Add the cocoa, vanilla extract and 4 tablespoons of Baileys and mix until smooth.
  4. Add remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  5. Add remaining Baileys as needed and mix until smooth, keeping an eye on the consistency of the frosting so it doesn’t get too thin. Set aside.

To Make the Baileys Chocolate Ganache and Assemble the Cupcakes

  1. When the cupcakes are cooled, make the chocolate ganache. Put the chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. Set to the side.
  2. Combine the Baileys and heavy whipping cream in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup and heat in the microwave until it just begins to boil.
  3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and whisk until smooth.
  4. Cut out the centers of the cupcakes. You can use a cupcake corer or a knife.
  5. Fill the centers of the cupcakes with chocolate ganache.
  6. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. I used Ateco tip 808, a large round tip.
  7. To decorate the top of the cupcakes, fill a piping bag fit with a small round tip, such as Ateco tip 3, with the remaining chocolate ganache. Pipe a drizzle onto the cupcakes for decoration, then add sprinkles if using.
  8. Refrigerate cupcakes until ready to serve. Serve at room temperature. Cupcakes are best for 2-3 days.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
  • Calories: 540
  • Sugar: 54.6 g
  • Sodium: 164.2 mg
  • Fat: 30.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 65.6 g
  • Protein: 4.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 72.8 mg

Categories

Enjoy!

Favorite Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes recipe
Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes! Chocolate cupcake, baileys ganache filling and Baileys frosting! So good!

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78 Comments
  1. TheCookster

    Why does the video & last picture of the cupcake show a center with a dark chocolate fudge filling? Yet you don’t have that information in your description. Another thing that is shown in the video is a squirt/ketchup bottle being used for the ganache instead of what you have listed is tip size & bag but don’t list the tip size for the frosting nor scoop size’s for frosting & filling the hole after baking. Important factors that help a baker.

    1. Lindsay

      Hi Cookster! Let me do my best to answer your questions.

      Why does the video & last picture of the cupcake show a center with a dark chocolate fudge filling? Yet you don’t have that information in your description.
      What description are you referring to? The filling may look dark, but it uses semi-sweet chocolate, as listed in the ingredients.

      Another thing that is shown in the video is a squirt/ketchup bottle being used for the ganache instead of what you have listed is tip size & bag but don’t list the tip size for the frosting nor scoop size’s for frosting & filling the hole after baking.
      Are you sure you were watching the right video? Because the video for this recipe shows a piping bag with a piping tip being used for the ganache drizzle. As for the size of the tip for the drizzle and frosting, they are there in the instructions. Under the “To Make the Baileys Chocolate Ganache and Assemble the Cupcakes” section, number 6 says the frosting tip and number 7 says the piping tip for the ganache. And no, I don’t mention exactly how much chocolate to fill the cupcakes with, but you should have plenty. 1-2 tablespoons per cupcake would work.

      I so hope you enjoy them. Thanks!

  2. Debbie

    My granddaughter wants to make these I’m not familiar with Bailey’s Crème. Is it a coffee creamer or baking supply? Can you provide a picture? I need a non-alcoholic version. Thanks

  3. Barbara

    Made these for my nieces wedding and they were a hit. Making the recipe as a layer cake for a friends wedding and adding feuilletine (sp.?) to the ganache for a crunch.






  4. Cathy Towne

    my Baileys chocolate cupcakes are still not done after an additional 7 min on top of the 17 min in the recipe. I know my oven is accurate. What could be the issue?

    1. Lindsay

      It’s really hard to see it from a distance. It could be something about ingredient that you used or possibly not measuring something correctly. Or it could be that we have different types of ovens. I’m not really sure. But I hope they turned out well.

  5. claudia

    just amazing 😋 I love those little things (and so does everyone around me). great recipe, very easy to bake, even for a swiss (it’s very helpful that the cups are converted into grams, thank you for that).






  6. Anusha

    I really like this recipe but I halved the recipe and my cupcakes didn’t rise and didn’t have a dome shape, they were flat. How do I fix this?

    1. Lindsay

      That’s really hard to say from a distance. It could simply be a variation with your oven or something. But if you’d like more of a dome, you could try adding a touch more baking soda, or even try a little baking powder. You just don’t want to overdo it though or they could actually sink.

    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t tried freezing these, but generally things can be frozen for up to three months. Just wrap them well before you freeze them and thaw them in the fridge before using.

Lindsay
About Lindsay

I’m the baker, recipe developer and photographer behind Life, Love and Sugar. I love sharing trusted recipes with helpful tips to give you great results.

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“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29