You’ll be happy to know that I have recovered from my epic kitchen fail, the oven is sparkling, and to celebrate I give you these amazing mocha cupcakes with espresso buttercream frosting. Plus, it’s Friday. And cupcakes are a perfect way to welcome the weekend with open arms. It’s been a crazy, messy, stormy week, and you deserve one. I might even go so far as to suggest that you should just skip your morning cup of coffee or trip to Starbucks and have one of these instead. The cupcakes themselves strike a subtle balance between light chocolate and a hint of creamy coffee. Not overwhelming on either end of the spectrum, and the combination results in a smooth, clean flavor, which is perfect for topping with espresso-spiked buttercream. I’ve been trying a new method for making buttercream for cupcakes, and I think you’re going to love it as much as I do. It involves lots of whipping of the butter, and then really whipping the finished buttercream. It gives the frosting a very smooth texture and it melts in your mouth. And as always, I try to achieve at least a 1:1 ratio of frosting to cake when frosting my cupcakes. Frosting is dreamy, yes? I could eat it with a spoon, straight from the mixing bowl.
Now, back to my baking disaster (sort of) for a moment. I wanted to share a recipe resource with all of you in the event that you don’t know about it yet. There is a custom Google search engine called Food Blog Search, built and maintained by Elise from Simply Recipes and Kayln of Kayln’s Kitchen, which pulls search results from over 2,000 hand-selected food blogs. It’s typically my first stop when I’m searching for inspiration for a specific recipe. While I absolutely adore my cookbook collection and find many wonderful recipes among their pages, I know that any recipe I find on a fellow blogger’s site will have been tested and reviewed, with honest feedback. That is invaluable information when undertaking something in the kitchen! Stopping there first instead of my cookbook shelf may have saved me from an oven of overflowing batter. In fact, I think you should bake these cupcakes, then mosy on over to your computer and eat the cupcake while testing out the Food Blog Search.
If you’re in the mood for more cupcakes you may want to send summer out in style with these Lemon-Limoncello Cupcakes, and then usher in fall Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting! And everyday is a good day for Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting.
One year ago: Pistachio Nut Ice Cream
Two years ago: Panzanella Salad
Three years ago: Samoas Brownies
Mocha Cupcakes
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Prep Time: 15 minutes Baking Time: 17-20 minutes
1-1/3 all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup whole milk
½ cup strong brewed coffee
1½ teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature1. Mix the espresso powder into the brewed coffee until dissolved; set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard-size muffin tin with paper liners.
3. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. 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.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 liners. Baking for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting cupcakes.
(Cupcake recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction)
Espresso Buttercream FrostingMakes enough to frost 12 cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons espresso powder1. Mix the espresso powder into the vanilla until dissolved; set aside.
2. 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 of 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.
*Note: To make the swirls on the cupcakes, I used a 1M decorating tip.
Tags: coffee, Cupcakes
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I made these yesterday and they are hands down the best cupcakes I’ve ever made (I make a lot of cupcakes!!) I almost ate all 12 myself! I froze 5 of them (not frosted) and took them out this afternoon and they were just as delicious as when they were fresh baked!! They were so good that I am making them again right now!! I may attempt to make mini ones though, I have some of the frosting leftover and I think it’s a perfect amount for a batch of minis! Thanks for a great recipe!!
On the chocolate mocha cupcakes u said u used a 1M tip. How did u pipe the frosting to look like ribbons?
Hi Dawn, I really just swirl around and up on top of the cupcake, I don’t really have a special technique, but I am working on creating a video of this since I get so many questions about it.
Hey! I recently made some great cupcakes and started getting into baking again. I had a sudden discovery of the most amazing aisle in Michael’s…. and ended up getting a ton of stuff for decorating. Please post that demonstration for the icing as soon as possible! I really want mine to look that fantastic as I plan on making a ton of them and giving them out to people =) It makes them look extra delicious ! I really hope you can put up a video soon!!! Thanks!
Just found your blog – amazing! this recipe is JUST what I’ve been searching for. I have to make a dessert for my brother-in-laws bday and he is a coffee-lover, I am not. Can’t wait to tackle it.
I love using the 1M tip but I love that ruffled look on one of the cupcakes swirls….how did you get that effect???
This is the easiest chocolate cupcake recipe ever! I messed up the recipe multiple times and it still came out great!
You are my new hero! I made these back in August for my husband’s birthday and STILL cannot stop thinking about them! I’ve made them 3 times since them and will make them again next week. Everyone I’ve made them for loves them, including a friend who hates coffee flavored anything! Thank you thank you for this amazing recipe!
I’m going to try these for a school parent cocktail party, but make them mini-sized. How would you adjust the baking time and/or temperature? Thanks!
Desperate to try these but totally lost on the measurements … What is 1- 1/3 flour is that cups … Do you have the measure for that in grams .. Many thanks, Jane
Hi Jane, It is 1 cup, plus another 1/3 cup. I do not have the gram measurements, although you might be able to find some conversions through Google.
hello..based on the comments, i may have found the perfect mocha cupcake recipe. is there any difference between incorporating by hand or an electric mixer the dry ingredients to the buttered sugar-butter mixture? because i’m not sure if overbeating the batter affects the cupcakes. thanks!
You can use an electric mixer on the lowest setting, or fold by hand. Mix until JUST combined, and give it a few more gentle folds by hand. Overbeating can definitely cause dry and/or dense cupcakes.
i see..wow, no wonder my cupcakes are super dense! thank you! =) i live in the philippines and i am new to baking. as to frosting, i’m a disaster! the last time i tried, 1 batch became so runny and the other got more than enough powdered sugar it got so hard and cracked easily. i’m so glad i chanced upon your link while googling for the perfect mocha cupcake recipe yesterday because i really learned a lot in a span of 1 day. many many thanks! =)
Coffee and chocolate is my weakness. Chocolate and peanut butter is a close second. I have to have these. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Needed an easy frosting recipe for my chocolate cupcakes. The espresso buttercream was perfect…can’t wait to try your cupcake recipe! Thanks!
These cupcakes were amazing! Thank you for sharing this recipe… I did run into a problem, however. The frosting I made looked nothing like that of which you made… It ended up extremely thick and quite dry..actually so dry that my pastry bag didn’t want to squeeze it out!
Any idea of what I did wrong? To prevent this? Still tasted great nonetheless..
Hmm so thick that it wouldn’t go through a pastry bag is quite thick! Did you make any changes to the ingredients or quantities, or technique used? If not, it would really difficult to say what may have gone wrong.
Hmm..I used the same technique and quantities. I did check my packages just now, and I just noticed my butter was not unsalted. Is the salt the culprit? Whoops!?
I don’t think the salted butter would have done it. But, was your butter soft at room temperature? If it was hard, it may not have whipped up well.
Hm, yes..it was at room temperature. I probably made some human error and didn’t realize it. No worries, I will surely make these cupcakes and this frosting again in the near future…I’ll see where I made mistake then. Thanks for your help!
I made this recipe tonight, and it was fantastic! My only complaint is that the cupcakes were too big and overflowed when they baked. Next time, I will make 18 cupcakes from this batter instead of 12. Not sure what happened. Other than that, though, they were absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Michelle, just wanted to let you know that your frosting is to-die-for! I didn’t use your cupcake recipe, but used the frosting for a different chocolate cupcake I made. I hope it’s okay I shared your recipe on my blog and gave you the big kudos and a link to your site
Thank you!
The worst recipe I have tried the cupcakes were bland, sunken and fell apart…
So I made these cupcakes last weekend and topped them with peppermint buttercream frosting for a peppermint mocha cupcake…Oh my goodness! They were heavenly. Move over Starbucks
Hey, just made these and they collapsed as soon as I tried to take them out of the pan. Looks like I’m turning them into cake pops. It’s moist, the flavor is good but the cupcake has no body. Any guesses of what may have gone wrong? I followed the recipe exactly.
Hi Maria, I’m sorry to hear that these didn’t quite turn out for you. Unfortunately there are a number of things that could have caused this so it’s really hard to pinpoint one cause exactly, especially without being there while they were made. Some possibilities:
- The baking powder and/or the baking soda could have been expired and didn’t work properly.
- If you opened the oven during baking it could have caused them to collapse.
- If they were taken out of the oven too early and the interior structure of the cupcake wasn’t fully cooked, they will sink when removed from the heating element.
- The oven temperature could be off; I always recommend an oven thermometer to make sure the temperature is correct.
- The batter could have been overmixed, or the cupcake liners overfilled.
Thanks for the quick response, I do believe my baking soda has expired, also as I was retracing my thoughts I remembered I only put in one egg and I had doubled the recipe, so that’s probably why they didn’t have body. I have already bought some new baking soda and will definitely make these again. The crumbs are really delicious and now I can attempt making those cake pops.
I made these cupcakes in my consumer ed. class for a Cupcake Wars. We added mini chocolate chips inside the cupcake batter to give the chocolatey flavor a little more *zing!* and also sprinkled some minis atop the frosting. They were a huge hit; everybody loved the look and taste of everthing!
I made these, ate them and am now planning on making them again… good thing, I have to share them with the hubby and kids or the big booty pants would be coming back into my wardrobe again!
Thank you for posting this! This was the perfect solution for the craving the recent episode of cupcake wars ignited in the whole family! YAY for espresso!
A friend and I made these cupcakes a little while back, and they are absolutely to die for. I keep running into a problem with my frosting though, and I was hoping you could help. When I make regular “vanilla” buttercream, it binds perfectly and I have no issues with it holding up, but as soon as I try to make a chocolate or coffee buttercream, it is as though the wet ingredients don’t want to combine with the dry ingredients, and it leaks the vanilla and espresso etc. Don’t know if this makes sense, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Nicolene, I would recommend this chocolate buttercream frosting: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/10/22/best-chocolate-buttercream-cupcakes/, and this espresso buttercream frosting: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/08/13/mocha-cupcakes-with-espresso-buttercream-frosting/
I did use your mocha buttercream frosting, so I know I must be doing something wrong. Your frosting looks so silky and smooth, and mine acted as though it was leaking vanilla and coffee. Any ideas on what I could be doing wrong?
Hmm leaking liquid? If you didn’t make any ingredient substitutions, perhaps your butter was way too soft?
Just baked these and they are so scrumptious, very moist and filled with coffee flavor. I ran out of butter for the buttercreme (figures) so I used Margarine. It worked okay, although I am sure the butter would have been better. I think the extra whipping of the butter gives the buttercreme an exciting creamy texture. Thanks for a new favorite!
These cupcakes were delicious! Everyone loved them and they turned out well despite the Colorado high altitude. This is coming from a 14 year old…They were easy to make and I didn’t run into any problems. Thanks for the recipe!
I was wondering what techniques you used to do the icing and what sized tips? I’ve been working on my icing skills… and I think there getting worse. lol Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
-caitlin
Hi Caitlin, For these cupcakes I used a Wilton 1M tip and just sort of swirled the icing into a tower on top. I am working on a how-to video for my cupcake decorations!
Hi there! I now you noted that you use a 1M tip but how do you get such pretty/fancy swirls??? They are absolutely gorgeous! Do you have a specific technique you use?!
Hi Erica, I just really went in circles on the top of the cupcake. I am hoping to put together a video soon since this is one of my most-asked questions!
I love the pic of the cupcakes. Just wanted to know if the powder coffee is instant coffee or regular brew coffee. I really want to make these.
Hi Cathy, The espresso powder is for instant espresso. Enjoy the cupcakes!
My favorite recipe when it comes to cupcakes! I am not a coffee drinker, but I am obsessing over any baked goods with coffee,mocha,espresso or latte in it! Will definitely try this recipes.
xx
I recently found your blog and absolutely loved it! i just made these cupcakes for my sisters 21st birthday and they were a hit. thanks a ton!!
These are Awesome! The frosting is so amazing…. tasty and light and fluffy. The kids loved them and so did my co-workers.
These cupcakes were amazing! Not only that, but she really helped me. I emailed her a couple of questions and she responded back quickly and helped me out through some steps. Thank you so much and the cupcakes were awesome!
I finally(!) made these after bookmarking them months ago. I made a few alterations since I couldn’t find Expresso powder but they were still delicious. The only odd thing was that they were very dense. Anybody else have this result?
I found the frosting to be a little thick and hard to pipe, but other than that these were really easy and delicious! I think my frosting was thick because I used shortening instead of butter because I NEVER have luck with butter in frosting. Good Recipe though!
This soup looks so yummy. I was linked here from your 5 year anniversary post. What a great start to a wonderful blog!
I can only hope mine is as successful as yours someday.
Oopsie =) I meant this reply for the meatball soup, but these look amazing too!
I made these for a bridal shower today. This was the brides fave flavor and she said they were the best she’d ever had. Everyone was amazed at how good they were and so was I! I made regular buttercream because I needed to tint the icing pink and green and place fondant flowers on top for a shabby chic theme. Can’t wait to make them with your buttercream. Thanks for a great recipe!!
I made these cupcakes the other day and my friends and I loved them! thanks so much for sharing the recipe
http://sugarpuffpuff.blogspot.com/2012/02/mocha-cupcakes-with-espresso.html
I tried making these cupcakes for my teacher friends and they were a huge hit. The only problem I had was that the coffee grounds did not dissolve all the way. How can I fix this? I had coffe grounds in both the cupcake and the frosting. The cupcakes were still delicious, but I want to make them prett also. Thank you for your help.
Hi Berna, You mentioned coffee grounds – did you use actual coffee grounds or the instant espresso powder? The instant powder will dissolve nicely, while coffee grounds typically will not.
Duh! I used coffee grounds I purchased from Starbucks! I even asked them to grind them really fine, but I guess that does not work. Thank you for your reply. I really love your site. I’ve tried a few of your recipes and really loved the results.
Berna
Absolutely loved the Espresso frosting nice recipe thanks for sharing
Do you use standard size cupcake wrappers??
Yep!
These look amazing, I can’t wait to try them! I’m going to make these for a b-day, so I’d like to make them into a cake instead. How many and what size cakepans should I use?
Hi Therese, The recipe as-is won’t be enough for a two-layer cake (which is what I assume you are going for). You will need to double the recipe (I’ve never doubled it, so I can’t say for sure if it’s finicky or not – some recipes can be when doubled) and the icing, and use 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans.
Hi Michelle, was wondering what kind of decorating tip did you use for these? and how did you achieve this kind of effect? they look great! Thanks
Hi Karen, I used a Wilton 1M decorating tip. I just sort of swirled it around as I moved my hand in a circle, building up to a point. I hope that makes sense!
I made these cupcakes today and they are the best I’ve ever made. Everyone who tried them LOVED them! I bake a lot and everyone said these were by far their favorites. The cake was super moist and the frosting was perfect! Anyone looking for cupcakes to impress, these are the ones to choose!!
These are absolutely delicious! I made them yesterday for my fiance’s coworkers birthday. He didn’t even take them all to work because he had to hoard some for himself. After he had a few he said “thank you lady from that blog” so delicious!!! love me some coffee especially in a cupcake:)
Would these cupcakes be nice with a cardamom frosting as well?
That sounds great!
these cupcakes are so fluffy and moist! i did add an extra teaspoon of baking powder and used my leftover icing from the red velvet cupcakes i bakes 2 days ago. I must say, cream cheese goes with ANYTHING. so yummy.
THANKS MICHELLE!
I hv used this recipe twice and still cant get enough of it. It is a fantastic easy recipe to use and the results are as i like my cakes to be. Thanks so much for sharing.
These are seriously the best cupcakes ever. Like melt in your mouth amazing!! Thank you for sharing. I will be making these not on a regular basis only because they are way too good and I could eat the whole batch to myself!!
I just made these cupcakes and they were delicious! The icing was so light and fluffy. Definitely going to make these again.
Cant wait to try this!
Where can one buy espresso powder?
Try Starbucks Via, there are several brews available and all are good and strong. They’re available in most supermarkets now, or online at Amazon.
Hi Val, I usually get mine at the local Italian market, they always carry it. You can also get it online from places like King Arthur Flour, Penzeys, and Amazon. Just make sure you buy instant espresso powder. If you use regular ground coffee it won’t dissolve as it should.
I made these tonight and they are SOOO good! I’m writing a blog about them as we speak; just wanted to let you know (giving you credit, of course).
What you did with the buttercream is absolute genius. It’s amazing! It really does melt in your mouth, as you said. Bravo!
I made these not too long ago and they are beyond amazing!!! My favorite cupcake to date and that frosting……..mmmmm….. is out of this world!
is the batter really runny?
my first attempt was a fail)
Tried this yesterday and it was PERFECT. I loved it so much that I finished the entire batch/12pcs. Haha! I’m making this for our graduation party. Thanks for the recipe!
I used a different cake recipe, and really didn’t care for the icing it came along with because it called for 6 cups of powdered sugar, so I thought I would try yours. Was I ever glad I did…your method of beating the butter etc., made the buttercream just heavenly and so silky. Yummo and I am NOT a buttercream fan. I prefer the whipped cream, the only thing I did was eliminate 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar because I doubled the recipe, and the consistency was still god enough to pipe.
Yum! How did you frost these cupcakes, with what icing tip? They look looovelyyyy
Hi Kelly, I used a Wilton 1M decorating tip.
I love the cupcakes the frostin gi couln’t get right though
Oh my goodness! Those are like heaven in my mouth! Absolutely wonderful!
Sign me up!
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