Mocha Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream Frosting
Be forewarned, these cupcakes are rich and decadent and absolutely irresistable.
That’s why I knew when I brought them into the office last week for one of the attendings’ birthdays, they would go over well. To begin with, this particular attending has a serious love of coffee. He buys coffee beans from all over the world and mixes it with crazy ingredients and roasts it…and it’s delicious.
When I found out that he was having a birthday lunch (note, when I find out that someone is having a birthday party, I get a compulsion to bake), I knew I just had to make cupcakes with coffee in them. These don’t just ‘have coffee in them’, but there’s coffee in the batter and in the frosting. To top it all off (no pun intended), they are topped with chocolate-covered espresso beans.
Needless to say, everyone in the office thoroughly enjoyed the cupcakes …even though they had just plain Eight O’Clock coffee in them and not fancy Nicaraguan or South African coffee.
Dark Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
Cupcakes
3/4 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 egg white
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons strong coffee (or three tablespoons warm water mixed with 1 tablespoon instant coffee)
Frosting
4 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp instant coffee
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
Chocolate covered espresso beans for topping
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a 12-cupcake pan with liners.
Whisk together all the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and cocoa) in a medium bowl.
Beat the egg and egg white gently with a fork, then stir in the buttermilk, vanilla, melted butter, and coffee. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until most of the lumps are gone. Divide evenly among the cupcake tins and bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting, dissolve the coffee in the warm water. Beat the butter, coffee-water, and vanilla in a stand mixer. Add the powdered sugar and beat until creamy and spreadable, adding a few drops of milk if too dry. Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.
Top with chocolate covered espresso beans.
Adapted from: Cate’s World Kitchen
