Dude. Matt hates it when I “dude” him, but these cupcakes deserve a “dude”. I figured they’d be too heavy – one of those desserts that you eat once and think “ok that was good, but I couldn’t eat it more than once”. I could honestly eat all 12 of these little nuggets (but I wouldn’t dare – I’d be eating 3 sticks of butter).
I found this recipe on another blog site yesterday when my brother, Kenny, was over. He was obsessed instantly! The only ingredient I didn’t have on hand was the instant espresso powder. I’m having both brothers over for dinner tonight, so I had to go to the grocery store anyway. While I was there, I picked up some espresso powder ($3) so I could make these and surprise Kenny.
Here is the recipe (makes 12 cupcakes):
Mocha Chocolate Cupcakes
1-1/3 flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup whole milk (I used non-fat milk and they were still awesome!)
½ cup strong brewed coffee
1½ teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg
Mix the espresso powder into the brewed coffee until dissolved; set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined. In a measuring cup, combine the milk, brewed coffee mixture and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture, alternating with the coffee mixture, ending with the flour mixture.
Divide the batter evenly between the 12 liners (I have found using an ice cream scoop works the best to get evenly sized cupcakes). Baking for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting cupcakes.
Espresso Buttercream Frosting
(Makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes)
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
2½ cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons espresso powder
(Cupcake & frosting recipes adapted from The Brown Eyed Baker)
Mix the espresso powder into the vanilla until dissolved; set aside.
Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar a little at a time, waiting until it is mostly incorporated before adding more. Once all the powdered sugar has been added, scrape the sides of the bowl and increase the speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy, about a minute or two. Add the espresso and vanilla mixture and continue to mix at medium-high until it is completely incorporated, scraping the sides as necessary.
These cupcakes are soo stinkin’ good! Oh my Lord! Like I said, I could seriously eat all of them. There is not a single thing I would have done differently with these (although, for some reason, my cupcakes didn’t rise as tall as they should have). They were super easy and quick to make too! Get thyself to the grocery store and get espresso powder if you don’t have it already and make these! Trust me!
Happy Dishing!
~Des
Dishing with Des 