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White Russian Cupcakes inspired by the classic cocktail – Baileys whipped cream sponge, topped with a White Russian buttercream and a hidden dark chocolate and vodka ganache centre.

I love creamy cocktails and the White Russian is one of my absolute favourites (really anything with Baileys is a winner in my eyes), so when I was contacted by thebar.com a few weeks ago and invited to create a recipe based on one of their cocktails, it was the obvious choice.

If you’re unfamiliar with the White Russian, it’s made from a mix of Baileys Coffee, Vodka and Cream, topped with a sprinkling of chocolate (you can find the full recipe here). If you’ve not tried one before, then you really should!

In making these cakes I’ve tried to stay as true to the original cocktail as possible. This means there’s a fair amount of alcohol in them so all the normal alcohol rules apply, don’t eat one if you’re driving!

The cake recipe is a little unusual, in that instead of using butter it uses whipped cream (to which I’ve added some Baileys 🙂 ), they’re then topped with a White Russian buttercream (buttercream flavoured with baileys and vodka). As much as I love creamy cocktails, I also love hidden centres in cupcakes (I struggle to make one without it) so given that White Russians are usually topped with a little grated chocolate, I didn’t think I was straying too far away by adding a dark chocolate and vodka ganache centre.

White Russian Cupcakes

WARNING – this recipe contains alcohol

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Makes 8 cupcakes

Equipment

• 8 cupcake cases
• Muffin tin
• Weighing scales
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring jug
• Electric mixer + bowl
• Hand whisk (for the egg) + bowl
• Sieve
• Large spoon or spatula (for folding)
• Wire cooling rack
• Small saucepan + bowl
• Piping bag with star nozzle attached
• Teaspoon

Ingredients

For the cakes

• 1 medium egg
• 120ml double cream
• 50ml Baileys Coffee (or Baileys Original)
• 100g caster sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 120g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt

For the White Russian buttercream

• 135g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 270g icing sugar
• 2 tbsp Baileys Coffee (or Baileys Original)
• ½ tbsp Smirnoff no. 21 Vodka

For the Vodka Ganache

• 50g dark chocolate
• 50ml double cream
• 2 tsp Smirnoff no. 21 Vodka

Method

Make the cakes

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan
2. Line a muffin tin with 8 cupcake cases
3. Using an electric mixer, whisk the double cream (120ml) to stiff peaks. Once stiff, add the vanilla extract (½ tsp) and gradually add the Baileys (50ml) thoroughly mixing each addition before adding more.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg (1 medium egg) until just frothy.
5. Add the egg to the whipped cream and whisk for a couple of minutes.
6. Gradually add the caster sugar (100g), whisk in each addition before adding more. Once all of the sugar is added whisk on a high speed for a couple of minutes.
7. Sift the remaining dry ingredients (120g plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, pinch of salt) into the cream mixture and carefully fold them together until thoroughly combined.
8. Spoon the cake batter into the cupcakes cases, ensuring it’s evenly distributed.
9. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
10. Once baked, transfer to a wire rack to cool.
11. While the cakes are cooling, make the buttercream and ganache.

Make the buttercream

1. Cut the butter (135g) into cubes and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Gradually add the icing sugar (270g) and beat in each addition before adding more.
3. Once combined add the Baileys (2 tbsp) and vodka (½ tbsp) and beat thoroughly to combine.

Make the ganache

1. Place the dark chocolate (50g) in a small saucepan and heat very gently until melted.
2. Remove from the heat immediately and pour the chocolate into a bowl. Add the double cream (50ml) and mix vigourously until combined.
3. Add the vodka (2 tsp) and mix thoroughly until combined.

Construct the cupcakes

1. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the centre of each cupcake.
2. Fill the centre with a spoon of ganache.
3. Pipe the buttercream onto the top.
4. Serve.

This is the estimated nutritional information per cupcake. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you want to learn more about how this is calculated.

Other White Russian inspired recipes

If these cupcakes have whet your appetite for some white russian inspired baking then you might also want to take a look at these other recipes…

• White Russian Eclairs by Patisserie Makes Perfect
• White Russian Pannacotta by Baking Obsession
• White Russian Cheesecake by Betty Crocker
• White Russian Ice-cream by Rachel Ray
• White Russian Jelly Shots by The Daily Meal
• White Russian Macarons by OMG, Sammiches

And if you fancy a change from the White Russian, thebar.com have a great selection of other edible cocktails here.

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* This is a commissioned post for Diageo’s thebar.com

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