These White Russian Cupcakes made with your favorite box mix and a touch of vodka are the classic cocktail in cupcake form! A sweet, fluffy Baileys Irish cream Buttercream tops a super soft and moist coffee and cocktail-inspired alcoholic cupcake.
This post was originally published on January 22, 2020, and has now been updated with updated links, and more information and instructions!
This White Russian Cupcake Recipe is moist and flavorful and they are a fun way to change up an ordinary cupcake to something a little more adult-friendly.
Alcohol infused cupcakes are fun to make and serve. They’re the perfect dessert to share with your cocktail-loving pals.
If you’ve followed along here for any length of time you know that I have tons of vodka recipes on the site. But this time I decided to use it in baking instead of a cocktail.
Whether you make these for a party or just because you’re going to love the flavor!
The cupcakes are made with vodka and Baileys and the buttercream is infused with even more Baileys. A few chocolate shavings are the perfect way to finish off these fun cocktail-inspired cupcakes!
Jump to:
What is a White Russian?
If you have never heard of a White Russian before, it’s a cocktail made with Kahlua or Baileys, heavy cream and vodka. It’s a strong creamy cocktail, with a hint of coffee flavor.
The great thing about a creamy, dessert-like cocktail is that they are really easy to make into a cupcake. When creating this, I tried to stay as true to the original as possible. Which means they are BOOZY!
Ingredients
For the cupcakes, you’ll need a box of your favorite Vanilla Cake Mix, some melted butter, milk, eggs, vodka, Baileys, vanilla extract, and instant coffee.
I love to use boxed cake mix because it’s such a great base to start from. You can modify the flavors in all kinds of ways and it’s super convenient to have them around for creating all kinds of fun desserts.
For the Frosting, you’ll need 2 cups of the very best vanilla buttercream, heavy cream, more Baileys and some chocolate shavings for garnish.
Frost the cupcakes and decorate with chocolate shavings for a classic yet really simple to achieve finish!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yup! You sure can! You can pretty much put vodka in anything. Pasta sauce, baked goods, you name it. Vodka is a magical ingredient.
Yes. You can replace water with alcohol in a cake mix. But because liquor tends to evaporate, you may want to add in a little more moisture with some extra milk or buttermilk. About 1/4 cup will do the trick.
I would play around with the recipe to find the right ratio that you like best. Or you can just use my recipe below as a guide.
I mean…I would say, not really. But I guess it is possible.
If you add the liquor to the batter before you bake it, it may cook-off. If you soak the baked cake in liquor, you will absolutely get a mouthful of liquor.
My White Russian buttercream has alcohol in it as well. But if you are just eating just one cupcake, I can’t imagine the amount of liquor in the buttercream will get you drunk.
If you eat the whole batch of these cupcakes in one sitting, maybe. But I don’t suggest it.
It depends on the amount of liquor used and how long the cupcakes bake. I would say for this recipe, most of it will burn off.
Yes! Since Kahlua is a coffee-flavored liqueur, it is a great addition to these cupcakes. If you don’t have Bailey’s, don’t worry! Always use what you have.
A few more easy recipes you might also enjoy!
- Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes from Box Mix
- Boozy Rose Wine Cupcakes
- Fireball Boozy Cupcakes with Cinnamon Whisky
- Boozy Margarita Cupcakes Recipe
- Prosecco Cupcakes with Prosecco Buttercream
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White Russian Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 15 ounce Vanilla cake mix
- ½ cup melted butter
- ½ cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup vodka
- 1/4 cup Baileys
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp instant coffee
For the Buttercream
- 1 batch my Very Best Vanilla Buttercream recipe Use this recipe here.
- 1/4 cup heavy cream cold
- 1/4 cup Baileys
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a bowl combine cake mix with melted butter.
- Add eggs and whip up on medium speed until incorporated.
- Slowly mix in the milk, vodka and Baileys.
- Add instant coffee and vanilla extract and whip for 3 more minutes or until the batter is shiny and everything is well incorporated.
- Divide the batter between the cupcake liners and take to the oven.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until done.
- Remove from oven and from pan and let it cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
- In a bowl whip up on high speed the heavy cream until light and fluffy.
- Add Baileys and mix.
- Incorporate the Baileys cream to the very best vanilla frosting.
- Whip up until light and fluffy.
- Frost the cupcakes and decorate with chocolate shavings.
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