Name: Bailey's Chocolate Cupcake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 14
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 👉 For the cupcakes:; 1 cup all purpose flour; 1 cup sugar; ½ cocoa powder; 1 teaspoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract; 1 Tablespoon espresso powder; 2 large eggs; 1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream liquor; ¼ cup oil; 👉 For the frosting:; 1 cup unsalted butter, softened; 4 cups powdered sugar; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; ½ teaspoon sea salt; 3-4 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream (or milk for non-alcoholic version); Chocolate sprinkles

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If you love chocolate and a splash of something boozy, these Bailey’s Chocolate Cupcakes are calling your name.

Rich, moist cupcakes are spiked with Irish cream and topped with a silky Bailey’s-infused frosting.

These are perfect for holiday parties, cozy winter nights, or anytime you want to impress with minimal effort.

Chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles in focus, surrounded by more cupcakes. — A rich chocolate cupcake topped with vanilla frosting and colorful sprinkles.

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About This Recipe
Ingredients
How to Make Bailey's Chocolate Cupcakes
Visual Guide to Cupcake Prep
Recipe Notes
PIN TO SAVE FOR LATER
Recipe
Comments

About This Recipe

Great for holidays, from New Year's Eve to St. Patrick's Day to Christmas Eve
Fun to pair with after dinner drinks like Espresso Martini or Bailey's Over Ice.
These cupcakes are ultra-moist, rich in chocolate flavor, and the Bailey’s frosting adds a grown-up finish. These cupcakes taste fancy but are simple and great for new bakers.

Ingredients

Chocolate Bailey's Cupcake Ingredients

All-purpose flour
Sugar
Cocoa powder
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Vanilla extract
Unsalted butter, softened
Powdered sugar
Vanilla extract
Sea salt
Bailey’s Irish Cream (or milk for non-alcoholic version)
Chocolate sprinkles
Espresso powder
Eggs
Oil

Frosting Ingredients

Unsalted butter, softened
Powdered sugar
Vanilla extract
Sea salt
Baileys
Chocolate sprinkles

See recipe card for ingredient amounts.

How to Make Bailey's Chocolate Cupcakes

Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Make the Batter: Mix dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients (including Bailey’s) and mix until smooth.
Bake: Fill liners halfway and bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool completely.
Make the Frosting: Beat softened butter with vanilla, salt, powdered sugar, and Bailey’s until light and fluffy.
Decorate: Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and add sprinkles.

A chocolate cupcake with creamy frosting and sprinkles, partially eaten with a fork, on a white plate.

Visual Guide to Cupcake Prep

A mixing bowl with flour, sugar, and coffee granules on a marble surface. — Start your recipe by combining the essentials: flour, sugar, and coffee granules in a mixing bowl.

Mixing bowl with flour, eggs, and liquid ingredients on a marble surface. — Next, add the eggs to your flour, sugar, and coffee granules mixture. This helps to bind the ingredients together, forming a rich and smooth batter. The eggs are essential for texture, ensuring your cupcakes are light and tender.

Bowl with chocolate batter on a marble surface. — Here’s the result after blending flour, sugar, coffee granules, and eggs—a rich, velvety chocolate batter that’s full of depth and flavor.

Butter and flour in a silver mixing bowl on a marble countertop. — Mix softened butter and flour until smooth to enrich the cupcake batter.

Mixing bowl with light beige dough on a marble countertop. — Smooth, light beige mixture of butter and flour, ready to combine with the chocolate batter.

A muffin pan with 12 baked chocolate cupcakes in gold liners on a marble surface. — Chocolate cupcake batter poured into gold liners, ready for the oven.

Twelve dark chocolate cupcakes on a cooling rack on a marble surface. — Freshly baked Bailey’s chocolate cupcakes in gold liners, cooling to perfection.

Cupcakes with swirled frosting on a cooling rack over a marble surface. — After cooling, each Bailey’s Chocolate Cupcake is crowned with a swirl of silky frosting, creating a gorgeous base for the final decoration.

Twelve frosted cupcakes with sprinkles on a cooling rack over a marble surface. — For the final touch, each Bailey’s Chocolate Cupcake is topped with sprinkles, making them just as festive as they are flavorful.

Recipe Notes

To make this non-alcoholic, you could use Irish Cream coffee creamer.

PIN TO SAVE FOR LATER

A Baileys chocolate cupcake with cream frosting and sprinkles, partially unwrapped on a white plate. — Bailey’s chocolate cupcakes made with Irish cream in both batter and frosting. A chocolatey festive dessert perfect for winter celebrations.

More Cupcake recipes to try include

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Recipe

Yield: 14-18

Bailey's Chocolate Cupcake

These alcohol-infused Bailey’s chocolate cupcakes are made with Irish cream in both the cake and frosting. A fun, festive dessert for holiday parties and winter gatherings. You can swap Bailey's with Irish cream flavored coffee creamer for an alcohol-free version.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

👉 For the cupcakes:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
½ cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon espresso powder
2 large eggs
¼ cup Bailey’s Irish Cream liquor
¼ cup oil
👉 For the frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon sea salt
3-4 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream (or milk for non-alcoholic version)
Chocolate sprinkles

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix to combine.
Add in the vanilla, eggs, Bailey’s, and oil. Mix on low until combined, scraping the sides often.
Divide the batter between each of the cupcake liners, filling each about ½ full.
Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before decorating.
For the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the softened butter, vanilla, salt, and about half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until combined.
Add in the remaining powdered sugar and about 2 tablespoons worth of the Bailey’s. Mix on low until combined.
If needed, add additional Bailey’s. Mix on medium for about a minute to fluff the frosting until smooth.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
Pipe a large dollop on each cupcake and decorate with sprinkles.

Notes

Storage: Cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

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Nutrition Information

Yield 18 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 319Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 48mgSodium 190mgCarbohydrates 44gFiber 0gSugar 38gProtein 2g

Nutrition information is just an estimate because I am not a registered dietician.