Bailey’s Irish Creme Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 325F.

1- Sift together cake flour, baking powder and soda, cocoa powder and salt, set aside
2-Combine sour cream, heavy cream, Bailey’s and vanilla in a measuring cup and set aside.
3-Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4-Add eggs and beat well after each addition.
5- Add 1/3 cake flour and 1/3 Bailey’s mixture to the creamed mixture and blend. Continue in this sequence until all ingredients are added.
6- Line standard muffin pan with paper liners and scoop 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 325F for 16-20 minutes. When done, they will spring back when touched. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool.
7- For the buttercream, start by making a coffee simple syrup: Combine sugar and coffee in a sauce pan and bring up to a simmer and allow the liquid to heat until it pulls a thread when lifted from the pan with a spoon (approximately 135-145 degrees F). Then remove from heat and add vanilla extract to the coffee syrup.
8-Place egg whites and creme of tartar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer (a clean bowl and hand mixer works too!) and whip until volume increases by 75%.
9- Begin mixing egg whites again on meduim high and slowly stream hot sugar/coffee liquid into the egg whites to form meringue. Continue mixing until all syrup is added and the egg whites form stiff peaks.
10- Allow the meringue to cool to room temperature (important; if the meringue doesn’t cool it will break more easily when you add your butter to the mixture)
11- Begin mixing meringue again on medium high and add pieces of soft sweet cream butter. The mixture will lose some volume at first but as you continue to add the butter it will increase again. Once all butter is added and the meringue is stiff you are ready to top the cooled cupcakes!