I wasn’t going to bake for a few weeks. I made those Double Ginger Cookies a few days ago, ate way too many of them, and realized it would probably be best for that marathon I’m running (in 11 days. OMG.) if I didn’t go crazy with sugar for awhile.
But today was my Sister-in-Law’s birthday AND Mike found out he got a new job (!!!) so the no-baking plans were scrapped and celebratory cupcakes were made. My sister-in-law drinks a lot of coffee, so dark chocolate mocha cupcakes with coffee buttercream seemed like a natural choice. The dark chocolate stars are just piped melted chocolate – easy but decorative and delicious.
Obviously, if you like either coffee or chocolate, these will be hard to resist. I think it’s easiest to use instant coffee for baking, so that’s what I did here, for both the cake and the frosting. If you’d rather brew some espresso, I’m sure that would work too.
Recipe:
(adapted from Evil Shenanigans)
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
a few ounces of dark chocolate, melted
Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a 12-cupcake pan with paper 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.
To make the chocolate decorations: Put the melted chocolate in a piping bag with a small round tip and pipe designs onto parchment. Transfer to the fridge for about 30 mintues to set, then place the decorations on the iced cupcakes.
Wow, these sound AMAZING!
Yum! I’d have trouble avoiding sugar if I made these. Good luck with the rest of your training days!
they’re so pretty!!
I love how you decorated those cupcakes! Love coffee or espresso flavored anything, just finished off a container of espresso frozen yogurt.
good luck! I’m training for my first right now–I hope you tell us how it goes!
Those cupcakes sound awesome. I’m not a coffee-drinker but I love coffee flavored things…and I have a friend who would love things. Can’t wait to make them!
Decadent! I want one now!
I love dark chocolate & coffee. Absolutely beautiful cupcakes. Best of luck in your marathon!
Wow! Beautiful cupcakes and great news for your family! Happy birthday to your sister!!
These sound fantastic! I’m always on the lookout for cupcakes to take to work and what better than more coffee?!?!
And congrats on all the celebrations!
Wow these cupcakes look and sound amazing!! I’m definitely adding this recipe to my to-try list. Yum!!
Wow, those really do look amazing, I have to agree with everyone else! I can’t resist chocolate or coffee so it looks like I am a sucker for this recipe! Do you mind if I use this recipe on my blog to share with my readers?
[...] Adapted from: Cate’s World Kitchen [...]
[...] I did not know baking was so expensive! I had to buy all of the ingredients, as well as the candy toppings. Here is the recipe (from Cate’s World Kitchen): [...]
i dont know if i did something wrong but when i made the coffee buttercream it came out way to thick, so i added a bit of milk then it was way too loose, it was pouring out of the pastry bag. I threw out the frosting and tried it again and didnt add milk this time, it looked good but when i put it in the pastry bag it started getting runny again.
Dee – sometimes the heat from your hands on the pastry bag can soften the frosting. If that happens, you can put it in the fridge for a few minutes to firm it up again
are this cupcakes for 12 cup??
Yes
what if you cant find cake flour what can you use ?
This post might help! http://joythebaker.com/2009/09/how-to-make-cake-flour/