How to — Pinatas/Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

PINATAS

Story by Erin Fitzpatrick
Photo by Daron Dean

1. You will need about a week for the whole project and a place to work where you can make a mess. The materials you will need: old newspapers or brown paper bags, liquid starch, flour, a balloon, small piece of cardboard, string, stuff to fill the piñata and paint or tissue paper to decorate it.

2. The first thing is figuring out what you want to make and what is involved in making it. The more organic the shape the easier is to make. Corners and box shapes are hard to make with out using cardboard.

Then you tear the paper in to pieces, about 1” x 2”. Don’t cut the paper – you need the frayed edges.

3. The glue is a mixture of flour & starch: ½ cup of flour for every cup of starch. This needs to be as smooth and lump-free. I don’t mix more than a cup of starch at a time.

4. Blow up the balloon to the size you want your reservoir to be.

5. Dip strips of paper in the glue and lay over the surface of the balloon, overlapping the edges in an irregular pattern. You want to cover the entire balloon except for an opening on what will be the top to remove the balloon later and fill it. Cover with two layers and let dry overnight.

6. Once dry, build the frame for your shape. You can use wads of un-torn paper and masking tape. The frame doesn’t have to be perfect because you can do some shaping when you apply the next layer of paper and glue.

7. Be prepared for comments like, “That’s a horse? I thought you were making an octopus.”

8. Apply a layer of paper and glue to the whole thing. Make sure you use strips of paper to overlap between the frame pieces and the balloon, after one layer let dry overnight.

9. Make a loop in the string with a large knot and run it through the piece of cardboard. Figure out how you want the piñata to hang and secure the cardboard to it using paper and glue.

10. You will want to put on at least one more layer of paper and glue over the whole thing. The more layers, the stronger the piñata, but I wouldn’t put on more than five or six. Once you have all of the layers you want and it is completely dry, pop the balloon and remove it. Fill with whatever you want and cover the opening. You can use a large, dry piece of paper gluing only the edges, then putting a layer of paper and glue over that. Let dry.

11. Decorate your piñata. You can paint, glue on tissue paper or whatever works for your piñata. Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect – if it’s too nice you won’t want people hitting it with a stick.

12. Call friends and bust that bad boy open.

Ingredients:
1 cup Guinness stout (just finish the rest of the bottle while cooking)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs (at room temperature please)
2/3 cup sour cream

For the whiskey-ganache filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I recommend the 60% cacao Ghirardelli baking bars)
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons of butter (room temperature)
2 teaspoons of Jameson’s

For the Baileys butter cream frosting:
2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
4 tablespoons Baileys

Cupcakes:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While waiting for this, line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Then, bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Take it off the heat, whisking in the cocoa powder until mostly smooth. It won’t get all the way smooth – don’t stress. Let it cool a bit.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In another large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat eggs and sour cream, just to blend. Add the chocolatey-yummy-stout mixture to egg mixture, beating just to combine. Then add the flour mixture, beating briefly on a slow speed. Use a rubber spatula to fold the batter to combine it completely.

3. Put the batter in your lined cupcake baking trays, filling each one about ¾ of the way full. While they bake for 17 minutes, lick the bowl and wash it down with the rest of the Guinness.

4. Before you take the cupcakes out of the oven, stick a toothpick in the center of one. If it comes out clean, they’re done. Let them cool COMPLETELY on a wire rack.

Ganache:
1. Chop up the chocolate and put it in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream on the stove until simmering and then pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for about 1 minute. Stir it up until smooth, then add the butter and whiskey, stirring to combine. Take a break.

2. Now that your cupcakes AND your ganache are cool, it’s time to get messy. The ganache should be thick, but still soft enough to be piped. First, using a 1-inch round cookie cutter or an old-fashioned apple corer, cut the center out of the cooled cupcakes. Make sure you don’t cut all the way down to the bottom – about 2/3 of the way is good. A long, slim teaspoon can help you get them out. These delicious little cylinders of beer-chocolate goodness are your tasters. Enjoy.

3. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in the cupcakes to the top. If you don’t have a piping bag, just use a one-gallon Ziploc-style bag with the corner snipped off.

Frosting:
1. Whip the butter in a bowl with the electric mixer for about 4 minutes. You want the butter to look super light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys, mixing just until combined. If it gets too thin from the Baileys, just add another tablespoon or so of the sugar.

2. If you’re feeling fancy and want others to look up to your superior baking skills, use a piping bag with a star tip to decorate the cupcakes with the frosting, making little poofs until you cover the top of the cupcake. If your friends will already be drunk by the time they see and eat your cupcakes, just slather the frosting on and call it a day.

3. Eat, drink, be merry.