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Guinness beer adds a touch of malty roasted nuttiness to enhance the buttery vanilla flavor of this Guinness cupcakes recipe. A 5-minute coffee-laced salted caramel buttercream and real dark chocolate sprinkles or shavings 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!
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. Serve these cupcakes for dessert after your Guinness beef stew, and then you’ll really have a winning meal.
And P.S., I got these dark chocolate sprinkles on Amazon. I heart them. Not only are they pretty, but they have rich chocolate flavor!
What Do Guinness Beer Cupcakes Taste Like?
Guinness adds a touch of malty, nutty roasted flavor to these cupcakes, which beautifully complements the rich, musky flavor of vanilla and cuts through the butter’s richness. It also helps create a tender, moist crumb. Additionally, Guinness pairs well with the faint echo of the roasted flavor of coffee in the buttercream.
Like American buttercream recipes in general, this buttercream is ridiculously easy to make (it takes just 5 minutes!), 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 powder. The espresso also brings out the roasted coffee notes in Guinness, so it comes full circle.
And bonus, this small batch cupcake recipe makes just 6 cupcakes so you won’t have a ton of leftovers! (TIP: You can easily double this recipe to make 1 dozen cupcakes.)
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Vanilla Guinness Cupcakes Ingredients
- Unsalted butter – Make sure it’s at room temperature.
- Sugar – Regular granulated white sugar.
- Egg – Adds structure and helps create the perfect texture.
- Guinness Draught – Guinness Draught is a type of dry Irish stout beer, but it’s different than Guinness Extra Stout (extra stout has a higher alcohol content and sharper flavor). My preference is draught in this recipe. Guinness Draught adds deep roasted, malty, slightly nutty flavor notes to the cake.
- Vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste – We use both vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste here because they contribute differently to the cake. The extract adds deep flavor and aroma, and the paste intensifies the taste of vanilla and adds gorgeous flecks.
- Flour – Regular all-purpose flour.
- Baking powder – The leavening agent.
- Salt – To season the cake batter, create a balanced flavor profile, and enhance the flavor of everything else.
Salted Caramel Buttercream:
- Salted butter – Or unsalted butter plus a generous pinch of salt.
- Instant espresso powder – You can use decaf instant espresso powder if you like. Just a hint of coffee flavor beautifully complements the Guinness in the cupcakes and the caramel flavor in the frosting.
- Caramel extract – Or butterscotch extract.
- Powdered sugar – Powdered sugar (also called confectioner’s sugar) adds sweetness and stability to American buttercreams.
- Milk – I use whole milk, but any kind of milk will work. Start with 1 teaspoon and add more if needed to achieve a smooth, creamy consistency.
Other:
- Dark chocolate sprinkles – Chocolate sprinkles on top are optional, but I like to add them because the chocolate flavor pairs well with the Guinness cake and caramel buttercream. Just make sure you use good-quality chocolate sprinkles that have deep, rich chocolate flavor. Another option is to use good-quality shaved or chopped dark chocolate, or mini chocolate chips.
Instructions
Step 1: Cupcakes
- Prep. Preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin tray with 6 paper liners.
- Make the batter. 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. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into the wet ingredients, and mix only until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, and being careful not to over-mix.
- Bake and cool. Pour the batter into the prepared tray and bake until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling completely before frosting (about 30 minutes more).
Step 2: Buttercream
- 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. (TIP: You may need a little more milk or powdered sugar to achieve the right consistency.)
Step 3: Assemble
- Frost the cupcakes with the buttercream and decorate with chocolate sprinkles if desired.
Storage
Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Tips For the Best Guinness Cupcakes
- Make sure you don’t over-mix the batter. If over-mixed, not only can the cake come out gummy due to over-developing the gluten in the flour, but we also lose the carbonation from the Guinness, which helps add lift.
- This amount of frosting makes enough to frost the cupcakes as pictured. If you want a thick, fluffy, creamy layer of frosting, make a double batch and pipe it into the cupcakes.
- To really gild the lily, serve these with a drizzle of homemade 10-minute butterscotch sauce on top.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but it doesn’t taste like you’re drinking a beer. The bitter, hoppy flavor is muted during baking, and you’re left with the smooth, roasty, malty flavor of Guinness to help create balance and depth. But I will say, you can definitely taste the stout more in these vanilla cupcakes than in chocolate Guinness cake!
Here we use a salted caramel frosting with a hint of coffee, and it pairs incredibly well with Guinness cupcakes. Cream cheese frosting is a classic pairing, especially with chocolate Guinness cake. Another option is easy chocolate buttercream.
Much of the alcohol in Guinness evaporates as the cake bakes. However, there is still a trace amount of alcohol left after baking. If you prefer, you can use Guinness 0, which is their non-alcoholic draught that contains the same ingredients, but uses cold filtration to remove the alcohol.
More Small Batch Cupcake Recipes
- Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting for Two
- Keto Cupcakes with Fluffy Vanilla Bean White Chocolate Buttercream (Makes Two Cupcakes)
- Caramel Vanilla Cupcakes for Five
- Funfetti Birthday Cake Cupcakes For Two
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Vanilla Bean Guinness Cupcakes Recipe With Salted Caramel Coffee Buttercream (Small Batch)
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Ingredients
Vanilla Guinness Cupcakes:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated white 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 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 caramel extract or butterscotch extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon milk plus more as needed
Other:
- Dark chocolate sprinkles for decorating (optional)
Instructions
Cupcakes:
- Prep. Preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin tray with 6 paper liners.
- Make the batter. 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.Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into the wet ingredients, and mix only until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, and being careful not to over-mix.
- Bake and cool. Pour the batter into the prepared tray and bake until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling completely before frosting (about 30 minutes more).
Buttercream:
- 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. (TIP: You may need a little more milk or powdered sugar to achieve the right consistency.)
Assemble:
- Frost the cupcakes with the buttercream and decorate with chocolate sprinkles if desired.
Notes
- Serving Size: Each frosted cupcake is 1 serving for a total of 6 servings.
- Storage: Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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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