Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

For St. Patrick's Day I made Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes with Smitten Kitchen's recipe.  On Monday I gave you a preview of what I was going to make. With both frostings finished, I was confident that I wouldn't be up til 2 am finishing them! First I made the chocolate Guinness cake. All the alcohol burned off and the cocoa folded in perfectly. BTW: I'm still looking for legitimate Dutch-processed cocoa powder - that's cheap. Any suggestions? 

Adorable, yes? I know.

I was a little nervous about filling the mini cupcakes because -well- they are just so teensy! The first batch I layered the two frostings, whiskey ganache on bottom and Bailey's frosting on top.

Before I got gutsy and decided to fill the cupcakes

I'm a baker with an engineer's mind. Because I didn't have a clever apple corer at my side (it would probably be too big for a batch of minis anyways), I used this meat thermometer to "poke & swivel" cavities into the babycakes. It was the perfect tool! Then I came in with my piping bag and stuffed them with whiskey!

As for the Bailey's frosting, I decided it would be best to fully cover the tops of each cupcake, including the little nub I left peeping out of the whiskey ganache hole:

I made two of the mini cupcakes with both frosting types in one pastry bag. It was simply for experimental purposes. I think the swirl effect looks really pretty!

I then sprinkled green sugar on top, just to really emphasize the idea of celebrating St. Pat's (as if the three alcohols weren't enough!)

I made a few with gold foil liners. They remind me of little pots of gold. But upside down. Hmm...

Overall I got great responses from coworkers about these. Everyone seemed to like the bailey's and rich chocolate cake. I had a frosted one on Tuesday night and I could REALLY taste the whiskey. Like, a lot. I had to go have a snack to cleanse my palette. Then again, I think I have had one too many Irish Car Bombs, so it could just bring up ...memories.

Who wants the next batch?