Happy belated Saint Patrick’s day!

To celebrate the Irish-ness, here’s a pic of my gorgeous Irish Setter.

I think he is my lucky charm. There must have been luck involved in helping these cupcakes turn out as yummy as they did. Not only did I fly by the seat of my pants in with the recipe, but I did so at one o’clock in the morning, after a long day of classes, in a goat curry-induced food coma and after several glasses of wine.

The moist, subtly spiced cake was delicious with cream cheese frosting – an idea I got from Kevin at Closet Cooking ^[1] (who also included a shot of Bailey’s). The stout adds a malty complexity to the chocolate cake, without tasting distinctly beer-y. And the bubbles act as a leavening agent!

Not that I think you really need an excuse to drink beer, but if you really need a reason, try it in cake form. And what better occasion than on St. Paddy’s day? Okay… a bit late, now. Let’s just call March “St. Paddy’s month”, for the sake of getting some more Irish beer in.