Recipe of the Month: Irish Explosion Cake (V)
In anticipation of St. Patrick's Day, enjoy a little luck of Irish in your kitchen this spring! I initially made this as cupcake. Over the years, it's been modified, I tend to make it as a cake on the holidays or cupcakes to share with friends. It's a tradition in our home for St. Brigid's Day and St. Patrick's Day. Enjoy!
makes 30 cupcakes or three 9" cakes
Cake Ingredients:
- 11.2oz Guinness Extra Stout (1 bottle)
- 3/4 dark unsweetened cocoa
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 3/4 cup sugar
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup oil
- 12oz applesauce (3 applesauce cups)
- 4oz boiling water
Ganache Ingredients:
- 5oz dark chocolate (I love Noi Sirius)
- 4oz vegan cream (Country Crock Plant Cream is amazing)
- 1 tbsp vegan butter (Earth Balance is my go-to for ganache)
- 2oz Irish Whiskey (An easy one to find for both drinking and cooking is Jameson's Cask Stout)
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 cup salted butter, room temp (again, Earth Balance for the win)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 4oz vegan Irish Cream
- This makes about 3 cups of Irish Cream, which will keep for about 3 months in the fridge.
- 10oz Irish Whiskey (like Jameson's Cask Stout)
- 8oz vegan cream (like Country Crock Plant Cream)
- 11.6oz condensed vegan milk (like Andre Post Sweetened Condensed Milk)
- 1 tbsp coffee
- 1 tbsp chocolate ganache (from above)
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
- For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare your three pans with oil and flour or your cupcake pan with 30 cupcake holders.
- Whisk the cocoa, flour, sugar baking soda, baking powder, and salt in your mixing bowl.
- On slow, mix in the beer, oil, and applesauce, before slowly adding in the boiling water.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until done.
- For the ganache:
- Finely chop the chocolate for the ganache and place it in a heatproof bowl.
- Heat the cream and butter until simmering, then pour it over chocolate. Whisk until smooth.
- While adding whiskey, whisk until glossy.
- For the Irish cream:
- Mix the Irish cream ingredients in a blender smooth.
- Refrigerate upon completion and use within 3 months.
- For the frosting:
- Beat the butter until light and fluffy.
- Alternate thirds of the powdered sugar and Irish cream, beating until the frosting is airy.
- When the cakes have cooled and are turned out, even them by slicing the top off.
- Paint on a layer of ganache.
- Frost the bottom layer then stack the second layer (painted with ganache) before frosting the top layer and sides.
- After you've frosted as desired, you can thin out the remaining ganache with Irish cream and drizzle on a design. Sprinkle some green sugar on top to complete the perfect look!
Nutritional Information: * per slice of 12 slices
- Calories: 709 calories
- Fat: 29 grams
- Carbs: 101 grams
- Protein: 3 grams
Nutritional Information: * per cupcake of 30 slices
- Calories: 298 calories
- Fat: 12 grams
- Carbs: 44 grams
- Protein: 1 gram
