Irish Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting

If you love chocolate desserts that feel a little grown up (but still super approachable), these chocolate cupcakes with Baileys cream cheese frosting are for you. The Irish cream adds subtle warmth, and the addition of coffee in the cake batter makes the chocolate taste even richer. The frosting is the kind you’ll want to eat straight off the spoon (speaking from personal experience).

These cupcakes are also surprisingly easy to make. No complicated decorating techniques, no specialty equipment, just a simple chocolate cupcake batter and a creamy Baileys-spiked frosting (plus, maybe a few green sprinkles for fun).The result is a bakery-worthy dessert that still feels totally doable on a weeknight.

Pull Up A Chair

Rachel: You can’t go wrong with rich chocolate cupcakes, and adding Irish cream to the cake and frosting takes these to another level of deliciousness.

Emily: The cake is amazing, but the frosting might honestly be my favorite part. Cream cheese frosting is already the best, but adding Baileys makes it taste extra special and unique.

Why You’ll Love These Irish Cream Chocolate Cupcakes

• Chocolate and Baileys are the perfect combo. The warm whiskey and subtle chocolate-caramel notes in Irish cream make the chocolate flavor even richer.
• Beginner-friendly dessert. This recipe has no complicated techniques. You just need to mix up the batter and frosting, bake the cupcakes, and frost the tops.
• Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. These chocolate cupcakes with Baileys frosting are a fun festive dessert that feels a little grown-up but still playful.
• Soft, moist cake. Using oil and sour cream in the batter keeps the cupcakes tender and flavorful.
• Make-ahead friendly. The cake stays moist for a day or two, so you can bake up the cupcakes ahead of time and frost them when you’re ready to share. 

Ingredients in Chocolate Cupcakes with Baileys

• Dry ingredients – all-purpose flour (measure with scale or by using “spooned and level” method), sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, and Dutch process cocoa powder.
• Dutch-process cocoa powder – for a rich, chocolate flavor. Be sure to use Dutch process and not regular cocoa powder, which reacts differently with the baking soda.
• Coffee – we recommend using strong drip coffee instead of something more concentrated like espresso. You can use caffeinated or decaf coffee, as long as it’s hot.
• Bailey’s Irish Cream – adding this liqueur  to the batter gives these cupcakes a delicious, subtle Irish cream flavor.
• Other wet ingredients – granulated and brown sugar, neutral flavored oil, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract.
• Baileys Irish Cream Frosting – cold cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar, Irish cream liqueur, and a little salt.

How To Make Chocolate Cupcakes with Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting

Make the Irish cream cheese frosting. Mix the cream cheese, butter, Irish cream, and salt with an electric beater until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Prepare the oven and cupcake tin. Preheat your oven to 350𝆩F and line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners. You can fill all of the cups with liners, or fill 8 at a time (because you’ll have to make 2 batches of cupcakes as this recipe makes 16, not 12).

Mix up the dry ingredients. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together and set aside for later.

Bloom the cocoa powder. Add the cocoa powder to a small bowl or cup, then pour the hot coffee over it and whisk until the cocoa completely combines with the coffee. The heat from the coffee reacts with the cocoa to extract more flavor, giving the cake batter stronger, more developed chocolate notes. Once the cocoa powder is thoroughly combined with the hot coffee, set it aside to cool.

Finish the cake batter. Add the sugars and oil to a large mixing bowl and beat together with an electric beater until the mixture resembles wet sand. Beat in the cocoa-coffee mixture, then mix in the Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur and the sour cream. Beat in the eggs and then the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Be careful not to overmix or you’ll develop the glutens in the flour, causing the cake to become gummy.

Fill the liners and bake and frost the cupcakes. Fill each cupcake liner about ⅔ of the way full with batter (this will be about 3 tbsp per liner), then bake the cupcakes for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with only a few crumbs attached. Let the cupcakes cool completely. Add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a round tip, or place it in a ziptop bag with one corner cut off (or just use a knife or offset spatula), and frost the cupcakes. Top with green sprinkles, if desired.

Our Tips for Irish Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting

• Chill the frosting for at least an hour before using. The Baileys makes it looser, so chilling it in the fridge will make it more stable. This is optional but recommended.
• Only frost the cupcakes that you plan to serve immediately. The frosting has to be refrigerated because of the cream cheese, but the chocolate cake is best when not refrigerated.

• Don’t overmix the batter. Stir until just combined for soft cupcakes. Overmixing will make your cake gummy.
• Use an ice cream or cookie scoop for even cupcakes. This ensures your cupcakes will be the same size and bake evenly.
• Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting or the frosting will melt.

Storage Suggestions

If you’re going to eat them right away, you can frost all of the cupcakes so that they’re ready to go. But if you’re making these ahead of time, we suggest keeping frosting stored in the fridge (cream cheese has to be refrigerated) and the cupcakes in an airtight container at room temp until you’re ready to frost and eat them. 

Irish Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting

Rich, chocolatey cupcakes meet the indulgent flavor of Irish cream liqueur in these Irish Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting. The cupcakes bake up moist and super chocolatey, while the soft and tangy cream cheese frosting gets a splash of Baileys for unmistakable Irish cream flavor. They’re simple enough for beginner bakers but feel fun enough for St. Patrick’s Day, dinner parties, or anytime you want an adults-only dessert that tastes a little extra special.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time:15 minutes mins

Cook Time:20 minutes mins

Frosting Chill Time (Optional):1 hour hr

Total Time:35 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cupcake

Servings: 16

Ingredients

Irish Cream Frosting

• 8 oz cream cheese cold
• 10 tbsp butter softened (1 stick plus 2 tbsp)
• 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp Bailey’s Irish Cream
• ¼ tsp sea salt or more

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour about 125g (measure using scale or spooned and level method)
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• ½ cup hot strong coffee
• ¼ cup Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar packed
• ⅓ cup neutral-flavored oil
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• For the frosting, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, Irish cream, and sea salt with an electric beater until smooth. For best results, chill in the fridge for an hour before using (optional).
  8 oz cream cheese, 10 tbsp butter, 2 ½ cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 tbsp Bailey’s Irish Cream, ¼ tsp sea salt
• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners.
• Mix the dry ingredients together (except for the cocoa powder) in a bowl and set aside.
  1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ tsp sea salt, 1 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda
• In a separate container, pour the hot coffee over the cocoa powder and whisk until the cocoa has completely mixed in. Set aside to cool.
  ½ cup hot strong coffee, ½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• In a large bowl, mix the sugars and the oil together with an electric beater until the mixture resembles wet sand.
  ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup neutral-flavored oil
• Mix the cocoa mixture into the wet ingredients, then mix in the Bailey’s Irish Cream and the sour cream.
  ¼ cup Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur, ½ cup sour cream
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then mix in the vanilla.
  2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Add the dry ingredients and mix them with the wet ingredients (careful not to overmix or cake will be gummy).
• Fill each cupcake liner about ⅔ of the way full with batter (about 3 tbsp per liner).
• Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with only a few crumbs attached. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them.
• Frost the cupcakes using an offset spatula or a piping bag. Decorate with green sprinkles, if desired.

Notes

Tips:

• Chill the frosting for at least an hour before using. Baileys makes the frosting looser, and chilling it in the fridge helps make it more stable. This is optional.
• Only frost the cupcakes that you plan to eat/share immediately.
• Don’t overmix the batter or it’ll get gummy.
• Use an ice cream or cookie scoop for even cupcakes.
• Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting or the frosting will melt.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a dessert that feels a little festive but still approachable, these Irish Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting are a great place to start. They have all the richness of a bakery-style cupcake, but the steps are simple enough for beginner bakers. Plus, chocolate and Irish cream is one of those flavor combinations that’s always good, especially when there’s a generous topping of cream cheese frosting.

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• If you’re looking for something super cozy, make our Beef and Guinness Stew!