Beer Cupcakes🧁🧁Rich, Moist, and Boozed Up with Brewed Flavor
These Beer Cupcakes are bold, tender, and totally crave-worthy — whether you’re going malty and dark or citrusy and light.
Beer adds depth, moisture, and character to the batter, while the frosting and fillings open the door to creative combos.
From chocolate stout cupcakes with Irish cream filling to citrus wheat beer cupcakes with lemon glaze, these are desserts for people who love their sweets with a side of beer.
🍺 Base Beer Cupcake Recipe (Makes 12)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup beer (stout, porter, brown ale, or amber — see flavor ideas below)
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup cocoa powder (for chocolate base) or 2 tsp citrus zest (for lighter base)
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Beer Tip:
Use stout or porter for chocolate cupcakes. Try wheat beer or blonde ale for citrus/vanilla styles. Avoid bitter IPAs.
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners.
- In a saucepan, heat beer and butter over medium until melted.
Whisk in cocoa powder if using; cool slightly. - In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- In a second bowl, whisk eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Add beer-butter mixture.
- Stir wet into dry ingredients until just combined.
- Divide into liners and bake for 18–22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool completely before frosting.
☘️ Irish Car Bomb Cupcake Variation
Chocolate Stout Cupcake + Irish Cream Frosting + Whiskey Ganache
Ganache Filling:
- 4 oz dark chocolate, chopped
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp Irish whiskey
Heat cream to a simmer. Pour over chocolate. Stir until smooth. Add whiskey. Chill until scoopable.
Irish Cream Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2½ cups powdered sugar
- 2–3 tbsp Bailey’s Irish Cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
Beat until fluffy. Add more Bailey’s to reach desired texture.
Assembly:
- Scoop a small hole in each cooled cupcake.
- Fill with whiskey ganache.
- Pipe Irish cream frosting on top.
- Optional: drizzle with more ganache or sprinkle with flaky salt or cocoa powder.
Other Flavor Combos
🍊 Citrus Wheat Beer Cupcakes
- Use a wheat beer or radler
- Add lemon or orange zest to batter
- Top with whipped lemon buttercream or citrus glaze
🥜 Peanut Butter Porter Cupcakes
- Use porter or peanut butter stout
- Add chopped peanuts to batter
- Frost with peanut buttercream and drizzle with beer caramel
☕ Coffee Stout Cupcakes
- Use espresso stout or coffee porter
- Add espresso powder to batter
- Top with mocha buttercream or cream cheese frosting
Beer Pairing
- With chocolate stout cupcakes:
- Guinness, milk stout, or imperial stout
- With citrus cupcakes:
- Wheat beer, radler, or blonde ale
- In your glass:
- Same beer used in the cupcakes
- Complement with contrasting styles (e.g., saison with chocolate for spice)
Final Thoughts
Beer Cupcakes are bold, moist, and made for dessert lovers who like a little brew in every bite. Whether you’re stacking dark chocolate and stout or going light and citrusy with wheat ale, these cupcakes bring flavor and fun in every wrapper.
The Irish Car Bomb version? Boozy, rich, and impossible to forget — part cupcake, part cocktail, all amazing.
Cheers to cupcakes that pour like a pint and party like a dessert! 🧁🍺🔥
🍰 Tasty Beer Desserts & Sweet Treats
From rich stouts to light lagers, beer brings depth, moisture, and a malty twist to desserts you never knew needed it. These recipes prove beer belongs at the end of the meal, too.
🍺 Beer Desserts & Sweets (Main Hub) – Cakes, donuts, floats, sauces, and more — all with a beer-kissed twist.
🍫 Chocolate, Cakes & Bakes
🍫 Stout Chocolate Brownies – Fudgy, dense, and dark with rich stout flavor.
🎂 Chocolate Beer Layer Cake – Decadent layers infused with malty beer.
🍰 Prairie Beer Cake – A rustic Midwestern classic made with golden ale.
🧁 Beer Cupcakes (Irish Car Bomb Style) – Guinness, whiskey, and Bailey’s-inspired cupcake magic.
🍪 Beer Cookies – Soft, chewy cookies with hoppy undertones.
🍮 Elegant, Creamy, or Custardy
🍮 Pumpkin Ale Crème Brûlée – Silky fall dessert with caramel crunch and spiced ale notes.
🍮 Stout Chocolate Crème Brûlée – Rich custard layered with stout and chocolate.
🥧 Lager Crust Apple Tart – A crisp tart shell made with lager for a flaky finish.
🍫 Guinness Chocolate Pudding – Dark, creamy, and decadently rich with roasted malt character.
🍺 Beer Jelly – Sweet and spreadable with a hint of hops.
🍺 Beer Caramel Sauce – Buttery, boozy drizzle for everything from ice cream to waffles.
🍩 Fried, Fluffy, & Breakfast-Inspired
🍩 Citrus Ricotta Beer Donuts – Bright, tangy, and irresistibly soft.
🍩 Beer Fried Dough with Cinnamon Sugar – Funnel cake vibes with beer-lifted dough.
🍺 Pale Ale Crepes with Lime Zest Whipped Cream – Light and airy crepes with a citrusy kick.
🍦 Frozen Treats & Floatable Fun
🍨 Stout Ice Cream – Creamy, dark, and slightly bitter — made for adults only.
🥤 Guinness Floats – The grown-up root beer float, bold and foamy.
🥤 Beer Milkshakes – Boozy, thick, and totally unexpected.