Magical Leprechaun Irish Cream Buttercream Cupcakes – Perfect For St Patrick’s Day
I discovered these adorable Leprechaun Irish Cream Buttercream Cupcakes last St. Patrick’s Day, and they’ve become an instant favorite at our house! The combination of rich buttercream (with just a hint of Irish cream) and those cute little leprechaun hats made from chocolate-dipped marshmallows is simply delightful.
These cupcakes are so special because the orange-tinted buttercream creates the perfect canvas for the festive toppers. Don’t let the decorated hats intimidate you – they’re actually simple to make and add such a playful touch. These cupcakes are guaranteed to disappear quickly and bring smiles to everyone at your gathering!
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Equipment You Will Need
- Piping Bags
- Microwave safe bowl
- Piping Tip 1M
- Electric or Stand Mixer
- Large mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Parchment Paper
NB Our recipe below assumes you have already baked some beautiful cupcakes! A packet cake mix is absolutely fine for this. We have chosen chocolate, but vanilla or whatever flavor you prefer is absolutely fine. See more basic cupcake recipes over here if you need more help with this stage.
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Leprechaun Irish Cream Buttercream Cupcakes
- Total Time: 44 minutes
- Yield: 6-8
Ingredients
6–8 cupcakes
1/2 cup room temperature salted butter
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons Irish cream
1 tablespoon heavy cream
6–8 marshmallows
8 ounces green melting chocolate
2 ounces black melting chocolate
3–4 sandwich cookies
Instructions
- Heat the up the green chocolate melts in the microwave. Heat the chocolate in 30 second intervals, and stir in between each interval until the chocolate is completely melted.
- Dip the marshmallows in green chocolate using a toothpick, scrape off the excess chocolate and put the marshmallow on parchment paper to let them dry. Repeat for each marshmallow.
- Next separate the sandwich cookies and dip the cookies with no cream in the green chocolate, place them on the same sheet of parchment.
- While the chocolate on the cookies are still wet, place a chocolate covered marshmallow on top of each one. Allow them to dry.
- Melt the black chocolate following the same instructions as above and put it in a piping bag. Cut a small hole on the tip of the bag.
- Use the black chocolate to cover the line of separation between the marshmallow and cookie. Pipe the chocolate around the bottom of marshmallow and use tweezer to add sprinkles to the black chocolate. That will be the front of the hat.
Making the Buttercream:
- Add the butter to the mixing bowl and whip the butter until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, 3 drops of orange gel color and Irish Cream and mix on low.
- Slowly pour the heavy cream down the side of the bowl as its mixing.
- Mix until the buttercream is fluffy and smooth.
- Put the piping tip in the piping bag and cut a hole on the tip of the bag, make it big enough for the top portion of the piping tip to fit through.
- Add the buttercream to the piping bagged secure the end.
- Pipe swirl on top of the cupcake
- Optional Add more sprinkles to the buttercream.
- Put the hats on top of each cupcake, Serve and Enjoy!
Notes
- Store in airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- If the buttercream is too soft add more powdered sugar. Add about 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time.
- I used chocolate cupcakes but feel free to use any flavors you like.
- Have fun with the addition if sprinkles, add as many or as little as you like.
- The buttercream recipe can be doubled for more cupcakes.
- If you want to make these for kids you can substitute the alcohol for Irish Cream coffee creamer or syrup (these contains no coffee).
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Sweet Treats
Want more Irish Cream recipes? Baileys is one of my personal favorite dessert ingredients for making grown-up treats and digestifs; check out our Baileys Irish Cream Cupcakes, or these cocktails where Irish Cream is King!
Looking For More St Patrick’s Day Ideas?
Whether you’re simply holding a small celebration at home with family or coming up with some classroom ideas, you may also want to check out:
- Our selection of the best low-mess but creative St Patrick’s Day crafts perfect for little kids
- Want some drinks to accompany your Irish-themed spread? These Irish Cream and green-themed drinks (alcoholic and virgin choices!) will help get you into the spirit.
- Or try some of these St Patrick’s Day games and activities, many of which have easy printables you can use at home or in the classroom.
From our kitchen to yours, we hope these St. Patrick’s Day treats add that magical touch to your celebration and become a treasured tradition for years to come.
© Little Party Pixie 2025
