Guinness adds a touch of nuttiness to the buttery, vanilla flavor of this Guinness Cupcakes recipe, and an easy Coffee Salted Caramel Buttercream is the perfect finishing touch!
These are definitely grown-up cupcakes with a complex flavor.
At first Guinness might seem like a weird addition to sweet recipes. (Maybe you’re thinking it goes better in beef stew?) But trust me on this one!
Serve these Vanilla Bean Guinness Cupcakes up for dessert along with your Guinness Beef Stew and then you’ll really have a winning meal.
The green theme for St. Paddy’s Day is fun too, but if you’re looking for a fun non-green St. Patrick’s Day dessert, this is it.
And P.S., I got these dark chocolate sprinkles on Amazon. I heart them. Not only are they pretty, but they have a rich chocolate flavor!
Guinness Cupcakes with Coffee Salted Caramel Buttercream
Guinness adds a touch of nutty roasted flavor to these cupcakes. This is a nice complement to the vanilla bean in the cupcakes. Additionally, Guinness pairs well with the faint echo of the roasted flavor of coffee in the buttercream.
This Coffee Salted Caramel Buttercream is ridiculously easy to make, and it’s just as delicious as it is easy. Salted butter helps mellow out the buttercream’s sweetness, and so does a bit of dissolved espresso.
And bonus, this small batch cupcake recipe makes just 6 cupcakes so you won’t have a ton of leftovers!
Pro Tip: You can easily double this recipe to make 1 dozen cupcakes.
More Small Batch Cupcake Recipes:
- Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting for Two
- Keto Cupcakes with Fluffy Vanilla Bean White Chocolate Buttercream (makes 2 cupcakes)
- Chocolate Cupcakes for Two with Fluffy Tahini Chocolate Frosting
- Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe (makes 4 cupcakes)
- Caramel Vanilla Cupcakes for Five
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below because I love hearing from you! You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media. To stay up-to-date FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Xoxo, Faith
Vanilla Bean Guinness Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream (Small Batch)
Ingredients
Guinness Cupcakes:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup Guinness Draught
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
Salted Caramel Buttercream:
- 4 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature
- 3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water
- 1/4 teaspoon butterscotch flavor
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 teaspoons milk more or less as needed
Other:
- Dark chocolate sprinkles for decorating (optional)
Instructions
- For the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin tray with 6 paper liners.
- Use a handheld electric mixer to beat together the butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Once combined, beat in the egg and mix until light and fluffy. Beat in the Guinness, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean paste.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix only until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, and being careful not to over-mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tray and bake until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
- Once the cupcakes are cool, make the buttercream. Use a handheld electric beater to mix the butter, dissolved coffee, and caramel extract together in a medium bowl. Add the powdered sugar and continue beating while gradually adding milk until the buttercream is smooth and creamy. (You may need a little more milk or powdered sugar to achieve the right consistency.)
- Frost the cupcakes with the buttercream and decorate with chocolate sprinkles if desired.
Helpful Tips
- 1 cupcake is 1 serving.
- You can easily double this recipe to make 1 dozen cupcakes.
Nutrition
This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on March 16, 2015. It was updated with more information on March 17, 2020.
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products I believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, I will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items, which helps me keep this site alive – thank you for helping to support An Edible Mosaic!
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
I’d take these over something green ANY DAY. Oh that buttercream. I could bathe in it.
With just two of us living in our house, I never make a huge batch of cupcakes. How fun to have a recipe that’s scaled down like this. And the cupcakes looks so good – I love the Guinness for extra richness. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Love how this recipe makes just a small batch. Perfect for us two at home!
Oh my, I want to dive into that buttercream with a spoon! Exquisite cupcakes!
Small batch recipes are the best! Unless you’re bringing something to a party, who wants to be stuck with tons of 1 kind of food? These looks so yummy too. Yayy sprinkles
Heavenly!
have a great week.
Cheers,
Rosa