Baileys Cupcakes

If you’re a fan of Baileys Irish Cream, then you will fall in love with these moist and delicious Baileys Cupcakes with its decadent Baileys cream cheese frosting. Find more olive oil cake recipes here.

I am not much of a drinker. In fact, I’m a huge lightweight. I don’t care too much for the taste of alcohol and it usually gives me a headache and puts me to sleep. But, I do appreciate Baileys Irish Cream.

I have a recipe for chocolate egg nog that tastes just like homemade Baileys. And yes, it is addictively good. And you will equally fall in love with these cupcakes.

Why you must try this recipe

Whether you are a big drinker or not, these cupcakes are pretty irresistible. The vanilla cupcake is moist and just lightly infused with Irish cream. It is also made with extra virgin olive oil, as I am a huge fan of baking with olive oil.

The frosting is to DIE FOR. It is not the usual crappy frosting you get from grocery store cupcakes. This frosting is in a class by itself.

It is a combination of cream cheese and butter and mixed with Baileys (yay more Irish cream), coffee and a little touch of cocoa powder.

I made these for my neighbors and we were licking our fingers clean because of that Baileys frosting. So feel free to make too much of this frosting. It’ll be a mistake worth making.

Think these are too boozy for someone who doesn’t like booze? You are not going to get drunk on these cupcakes, just a little sugar high.

See my Baileys Cupcakes Web Story for a quick visual guide to making this recipe.

Ingredients you need

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Cupcake Ingredients

• Pantry staples: All purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla extract
• Extra virgin olive oil: Your baked goods are only as good as the ingredients you put into it. Choose a mild tasting olive oil for this cake recipe, not a peppery one. Taste it by itself to determine if it is not rancid and not too pungent.
• Milk: I always have full fat milk in my fridge, so that is what I primarily bake with. Fat adds moisture and flavor to your cake, so don’t be afraid of it. You can use low fat milk or to make it vegan, us almond milk.
• Irish Cream: I used Bailey’s, but you can use any variety of Irish cream liqueur.
• Eggs: When I bake, I primarily use large eggs

Frosting Ingredients

• Fat: I used a combination of cream cheese and butter for this frosting.
• Powdered sugar: Also known as confectioner’s sugar and icing sugar.
• Irish Cream: I used Bailey’s, but you can use any variety of Irish cream liqueur.
• Coffee: You can use instant, brewed, even espresso. Just be sure that it is room temperature when you are ready to add it to your frosting.
• Cocoa powder: Use unsweetened cocoa powder. This adds a touch of color more than flavor.

Step-by-step directions

1. In a medium sized bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda.

2. Using a stand or hand mixer, combine olive oil and sugar until fluffy like wet sand.

3. Mix in vanilla extract, milk and Baileys.

4. Mix in eggs, scraping down the sides of the bowl to combine thoroughly.

5. Add half of the flour mixture into sugar mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Mix in the remaining half of flour mixture until just blended. Do not over mix.

6. Apply non-stick spray to a 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper cups. Divide batter evenly into the prepared muffin pan and bake at 350ºF for 18-20 minutes, or until cupcake tops are a lightly browned.

7. Let the cupcakes rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

8. While cupcakes cool, prepare the frosting. Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment mix powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, remaining 2 teaspoon Baileys Irish Cream, coffee, vanilla extract and cocoa powder until well combined.

9. Allow frosting to chill in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes before using on the cupcakes. Garnish with shaved chocolate, sifted cocoa powder or chocolate jimmies.

Recipe tips and FAQs

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)!  Read my full disclosure policy

I frosted the cupcakes using the #1M piping tip. You don’t have to go fancy with a piping bag. You can also use an icing spatula or a regular ole butter knife.

There is just enough frosting to ice the 12 cupcakes. So if you want to go crazy with mile high frosting, you might want to make 1 ½ to 2 times the amount listed in the recipe below.

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.

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