Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream Frosting
These mocha cupcakes are coffee and espresso-infused, with a subtle chocolate flavor, and topped with an espresso-spiked buttercream frosting.
These mocha cupcakes are a chocolate and coffee lover’s dream come true. If you can’t get your day going without your favorite cup of coffee, you’re in luck.
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 cake part itself strikes 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 love this recipe because it’s incredibly low maintenance in terms of preparation. I used my hand mixer and had these babies into the oven less than 30 minutes after I got started. I am absolutely infatuated with the texture of the cupcake – it’s so incredibly soft and tender, with not even a hint of dryness. It’s basically the perfect cupcake and I’m dying to think of other recipes to use the same base recipe.
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. I pile it way high!
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I’ve mentioned many times that I’m not a big coffee drinker, mostly because I don’t like the flavor of black coffee, so I need to doctor it up with all kinds of cream and sugar to enjoy it, and I figure if I’m going to do that, I might as well just have some dessert… Oh wait.
These mocha cupcakes are pretty much how I like to ingest my coffee. Sugar? Check. Cream? Check.
While I don’t drink coffee, I absolutely, positively LOVE these cupcakes, and I’m willing to bet that many of you will, too!
Four years ago: Cherry Coke Float Cupcakes
Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- ½ cup (118.5 ml) brewed coffee, at room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) espresso powder
- ½ cup (122 ml) whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1⅓ cups (166.67 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (28.67 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
For the Espresso Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) espresso powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard-size muffin tin with paper liners.
- Make the Cupcakes: In a measuring cup, whisk the espresso powder into the brewed coffee until completely dissolved. Add the milk and vanilla extract; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of the coffee mixture, mixing each until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, give the batter a final stir to ensure everything is incorporated.
- Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full with batter. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting the cupcakes.
- Make the Frosting: In a small bowl, whisk 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 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 1 to 2 minutes. Add the espresso and vanilla mixture and continue to mix at medium-high speed until it is completely incorporated, scraping the sides as necessary. Frost the cupcakes as desired (I used the Wilton 1M decorating tip).
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on August 13, 2010.
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! :)
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 bought my expresso powder from Walmart. I was shocked to see it there!
I just made these cupcakes and they were delicious! The icing was so light and fluffy. Definitely going to make these again.
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 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 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!
Would these cupcakes be nice with a cardamom frosting as well?
That sounds great!
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:)
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!!
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!
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.
Do you use standard size cupcake wrappers??
Yep!
Absolutely loved the Espresso frosting nice recipe thanks for sharing :-)
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
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 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!!
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 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!
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?
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!
These are Awesome! The frosting is so amazing…. tasty and light and fluffy. The kids loved them and so did my co-workers.
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!! :)
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 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!
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 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!
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!
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!
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: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/10/22/best-chocolate-buttercream-cupcakes/, and this espresso buttercream frosting: https://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?
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!