Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

by Jamie on April 27, 2011

Post image for Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

The weather in Ohio is wretched and my mood is starting to reflect the weather. Wretched. My backyard is a swamp, my freshly groomed dogs now look like strays and smell like Fritos. I’ve ruined two pairs of Gap City Flats over the course of 5 days and have mopped my kitchen floor more times than I care to count.

The April showers that bring May flowers almost have me wishing for snow, but not quite. As I sat down to Lightroom to edit a bunch of photos, I noticed a trend. My mood totally transfers to my photos. When it is dreary and cold, I tend to shoot moody, dark images. When the skies are clear, I opt for light airy backgrounds and styling.

Take another look at the photo above. Any idea what kind of mood I was in? I made a feeble attempt of incorporating citrus into the frosting in an effort to brighten my melancholy state. Did it work? Not so much. Maybe I need to whip up some fruit sorbets and rich ice creams.

Okay enough about me and the craptastic weather, let’s talk cupcakes. I started with one of my favorite chocolate cupcake recipes and slathered them with a gorgeous orange infused cream cheese frosting that’s so good you might be compelled to bathe in it. However, that may get a little messy, but hey, at least you’d smell good! The citrus kick provided me with the little oomph that I needed to escape the rainy day blues.

Hopefully the weather (and my mood) will improve in short order. If sunshine doesn’t do it, the sugar high from these citrus-y chocolate cupcakes certainly will.

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Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

For the Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

16 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
zest of one large orange
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
6 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

For the cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

3. Using a large scoop, distribute the batter between 24 muffin wells, filling each well 2/3 full. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and cool completely.

For the Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In a the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together cream cheese, orange zest, shortening, and butter until well combined.

2. With the mixer of low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar until thoroughly incorporated and smooth. Add vanilla and mix to combine.

Notes:

- Store cupcakes in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Remove to room temperature 30-45 minutes before serving.
- I added a tiny bit of orange gel dye to the frosting to achieve the pale orange hue that is seen in the photo.
- Cupcake recipe adapted from Ina Garten.

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{ 69 comments… read them below or add one }

avatar 1 Jen of My Tiny Oven April 27, 2011 at 8:53 pm

I feel your pain on the rain! Vancouver has been horrible! But I can say these cupcakes have cheered me up! Thanks! Nothing beats a cupcake!

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avatar 2 Brooke (Baking with Basil) April 27, 2011 at 9:01 pm

This chocolate cupcake recipe is AMAZING! I used it a few weeks ago and my husbands co-workers were raving about it!! Hope the weather turns around for you guys!

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avatar 3 Hannah at FleurDeLicious April 27, 2011 at 9:04 pm

What a yummy combo. I kind of feel like making just the frosting and eating it with a spoon…

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avatar 4 noreen April 27, 2011 at 9:07 pm

Is there a way to make this without the shortening? The mere idea of shortening makes me queasy…

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avatar 5 Jamie April 27, 2011 at 9:17 pm

Noreen-
Just omit the shortening.
-Jamie

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avatar 6 noreen May 1, 2011 at 8:01 pm

Thank you! Can’t wait to make these!

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avatar 7 Allison April 27, 2011 at 9:11 pm

I love the comment about your dogs smelling like Fritos! My hubby tells my pittie she smells like Doritos! haha… I always thought he was crazy, but maybe there is some truth to it… Dogs smell like chips :)

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avatar 8 Maris (In Good Taste) April 27, 2011 at 9:17 pm

These cupcakes would definitely improve my mood!

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avatar 9 Becca April 27, 2011 at 9:25 pm

Mmm. I do love the combination of chocolate and orange! I don’t care if it looks all sullen and gloomy, these cupcakes look really good. Also, even though these are deep and dark photos, you’re still an amazing photographer! :D

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avatar 10 Bonnie Banters April 27, 2011 at 9:50 pm

I feel this delicious frosting melting on my tongue as I read this recipe! You’ve used a favorite combination of mine…orange and chocolate (never disappoints)!!

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avatar 11 Vimitha April 27, 2011 at 10:03 pm

That looks so very rich and yummiciliously tempting

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avatar 12 Audrey Ellen @ My Scene and Herd April 27, 2011 at 10:33 pm

your cupcakes may be brooding, but they look delectable!

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avatar 13 Dalila G. April 28, 2011 at 12:00 am

Sorry to hear about your ‘craptastic’ weather…love that word!
Happy you rebounded with your ‘fantastic’ cupcakes! :-)
Hehehe….sorry, couldn’t resist.
Love the frosting, looks sooo delish!
This recipe is going to be a must for this gal, thanks for sharing!

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avatar 14 Sandra April 28, 2011 at 12:34 am

Jamie I need your help! I used this chocolate cake recipe tonight and it was very thin. The cake is very moist and tastes great and wanted to use it for cupcakes as you have in this post. You advise to scoop the batter which makes me think mine is way too thin. Is this a runny batter or have I messed up??

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avatar 15 Jamie April 28, 2011 at 6:21 pm

Sandra-
I use a large cookie scoop. It is a thin batter for sure. I hold a paper towel under the scoop as I transfer from mixing bowl to cupcake tin. It lessens the drippage. :)
-Jamie

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avatar 16 Sandra April 29, 2011 at 11:21 am

Thanks very much!!

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avatar 17 Katrina April 28, 2011 at 12:48 am

The orange cream cheese frosting in this sounds beyond tasty. Love this!

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avatar 18 Kelly April 28, 2011 at 4:31 am

These look great! Was actually planning to make chocolate cupcakes with orange frosting myself this week for Queensday. Our national colour (the Netherlands) is orange, so an orange zest frosting with a bit of food coloring would be perfect! I’m thinking about adding some grand marnier too, hope this will work!

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avatar 19 Jennifer @ Raisin Questions April 28, 2011 at 9:07 am

It is so interesting that you noticed a connection between your photography and mood, and even food choices! I guess how we experience food is even impacted by a particular state of feeling… and I wonder how instinctual our food choices are, so that as you suggested, adding a bit of orange zest to comforting chocolate can really kick the blues away! Thanks for the interesting post.

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avatar 20 Sincerely Jill April 28, 2011 at 9:40 am

Whether you’re in a gloomy or bright mood, your photos are always great. I just moved to a place where they aren’t used to having tornados and are completely unprepared when they do come… like now… so I’m in a worried kind of mood. I wonder what that would look like in food photography :)

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avatar 21 Emily April 28, 2011 at 10:25 am

IN is right there with you with all the rain! These look so yummy! I cannot wait to bake them this weekend for a little pick me up :) Thanks!

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avatar 22 Twyla April 28, 2011 at 10:25 am

I cannot wait to make these! I love Chocolate and Orange as a combo!

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avatar 23 Nourhan @ Miss Anthropist's Kitchen April 28, 2011 at 11:10 am

I love this recipe–the combination of orange and chocolate is great!

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avatar 24 I love chocolate-orange combo taste April 28, 2011 at 11:24 am

The chocolate-orange combo is always a winner, now imagine if you add some Grand Marnier…oops! :p

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avatar 25 Barbara | VinoLuciStyle April 28, 2011 at 1:41 pm

I too love the combination of chocolate and orange; how the citrus really brightens up the ‘mood’ – for me these cupcakes are a combination of light and dark! Look and sound wonderful Jamie…as expected of course!

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avatar 26 Allison April 28, 2011 at 1:57 pm

These look fantastic! Hope the weather gets better soon!

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avatar 27 BevE April 28, 2011 at 2:18 pm

As Bill Clinton said- “I feel your pain.” Sharing the same weather here- rain, gloom, wind and just palin yucky skies but definitely grateful for the fact that we haven’t had any tornados. These cupcakes would really brighten my day but being Prediabetic I can only dream – the coffee with the cocoa sounds heavenly though : D

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avatar 28 Lucy @ The Sweet Touch April 28, 2011 at 3:17 pm

I feel your pain on the weather. We are having our first sunny day here in St. Louis in ages. I don’t have dogs to test the Frito theory, but I did start to think everything was smelling like worms!!

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avatar 29 Sherry Greek April 28, 2011 at 3:30 pm

That frosting sounds amazinggg. I’m not a big chocolate fan, so instead I will probably try this frosting out some time! It looks soo good!

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avatar 30 Courtney April 28, 2011 at 4:56 pm

Nice! In New Zealand we call the chocolate-orange combo Jaffa. There are these little chocolate balls coated in orange candy which are a NZ icon =)

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avatar 31 Debbie April 28, 2011 at 4:59 pm

Oh wow those cupcakes look tasty! You also can’t forget the 55+ mph winds we had last night. When I took my puppy out this morning at 6, someone was nice enough to bring home 2 of my shudders and put them under my chairs on the front porch. I know what you mean about the yard…I’m wearing a cheap pair of flip flops now…I have officially given up!!

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avatar 32 Whitney April 28, 2011 at 5:02 pm

If I wanted to make raspberry frosting, instead of orange, would I just substitute some pureed raspberries? Or is there an extract that would do the trick?

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avatar 33 Happy When Not Hungry April 28, 2011 at 5:40 pm

These cupcakes look beautiful! I love the orange frosting too. Yum!

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avatar 34 Tracy April 28, 2011 at 6:17 pm

Oh Jamie, we’re going through the same thing here – no end in sight for the rain, and a house full of mud and wet dog. :-P These cupcakes look lovely though – perfect for combating the ugly weather out there!

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avatar 35 Amanda April 28, 2011 at 6:19 pm

You dont have to ask ME twice to bathe in it! :) Great recipe.. these sound just amazing.

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avatar 36 Lisa April 28, 2011 at 8:58 pm

Amen–I’m in Pittsburgh and I feel your pain. We have had the same miserable weather here. But, thank God we haven’t been hit like the south.

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avatar 37 Patricia April 28, 2011 at 9:09 pm

As a former Buckeye, I totally feel your pain : ) Now I live in AZ amongst the sun & heat and actually look forward to the rainy days that are few & far between!

These look scrumptious!! I’m sure they could brighten any gloomy day!

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avatar 38 Connie the cookie monster April 29, 2011 at 2:00 am

oil based cakes are the best!

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avatar 39 Mackenzie@The Caramel Cookie April 29, 2011 at 11:18 am

I could totally eat the just the frosting.

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avatar 40 Anita Menon April 30, 2011 at 7:03 am

I hope your mood has improved by now. Love the cup cakes though they too reflect your mood. :-) they look dark, moist and decadent. The pale saffron color of the orange makes it look so elegant. Like a sad princess waiting for the rain to stop :-)

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avatar 41 Nancy @SensitivePantry May 1, 2011 at 8:00 am

I hear you, Jamie. I personally love the moody photos–but not the gloomy weather. Fortunately, this weekend has been beautiful and I’m soaking up the sunny rays!

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avatar 42 Shaina May 1, 2011 at 11:12 pm

Heavenly orange and chocolate! It’s been dark and gloomy here, too.

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avatar 43 foodies at home May 2, 2011 at 11:55 pm

It’s amazing how your mood can affect so much in life! I bet these cupcakes perked you up though!

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avatar 44 Gwenevere May 3, 2011 at 12:14 pm

I wish I could reflect my mood in my photos. At least that would mean I had some control over how my pictures turn out. RIght now I check a couple settings and hope for the best….I’m so new at this.

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avatar 45 Calm Crazy World May 5, 2011 at 5:52 pm

I can’t wait to try these! They look divine!!

I have just awarded you with the Versatile Blogger Award! I hope you can stop by and accept it!

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avatar 46 Laura May 6, 2011 at 11:04 pm

The chocolate and orange combo looks delicious!

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avatar 47 Leslie May 8, 2011 at 1:10 am

I can’t wait to make these! The ingredients are on my grocery list and I’m giddy about baking them tomorrow!!

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avatar 48 Crescendo Event Design - Myrtle Beach Weddings May 9, 2011 at 5:14 pm

I just discovered your blog! Yay! And Yum! I have been looking for a good orange frosting recipe. Can’t wait to try these out.

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avatar 49 Nikki May 9, 2011 at 10:01 pm

Made these today – my cupcakes collapsed a bit (sunken in the center) but the taste was WOW! I also just wanted to eat the frosting (what cupcakes?)! :) I used 2 tsp of cherry concentrate in place of the vanilla and the orange zest (no oranges in the house, boo!), and the frosting came out a lovely pale pink with a *teensy* touch of tartness from the cherry. I filled the cupcake wells about 1/2 full instead, so I manages to stretch this out to about 30 cupcakes. I’ll make this again- hopefully without the sinking!

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avatar 50 Avanika (Yumsilicious Bakes) May 17, 2011 at 2:30 pm

Those look gorgeous!! I love the chocolate + orange combination.

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avatar 51 Virginia May 19, 2011 at 2:11 am

Hi, I don’t make it out to see the blogging sites I follow but every few to several weeks. I am working on a cake for my mother in law and she had mentioned to me awhile back that her mom used to make her Orange Chiffon type of cake and it was covered in an orange icing that had tons of zest in it. I had made chocolate cupcakes the day before I made the orange cake. So when I made the orange cake I then decided to try a Swiss Merigue buttercream. I used a 12 ounce bottle of OJ, and most of it went into the cake to replace the water, but for the icing I took the OJ and reduced it till it was nice and thick. Cooled it down and when the icing was nice and yummy and at the point of needing the vanilla at the end, I used the reduced OJ instead and then zested two large oranges and mixed the zest in and I got a LUCIOUS creamy yummy buttercream that then I filled and frosted the orange cake with it. The left overs I was like I don’t want to waste it, I had not frosted the chocolate cupcakes so I pulled them out and dropped the remaining orange on a dozen of them and OMG it was AWESOME. Chocolate and Orange work soooo great together.

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avatar 52 Hilda May 21, 2011 at 3:30 am

I’ll be making these this weekend sans the shortening. I feel guilty eating it but not so guilty eating just the butter lol. What kind of cocoa powder do you buy? The only kind i manage to find is the Hersheys brand.

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avatar 53 Kayla May 26, 2011 at 5:12 pm

Any way I can make these without the coffee? Any substitutions?

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avatar 54 Kennedy June 25, 2011 at 9:30 pm

Those look absolutely wonderful! *mouth watering*

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avatar 55 Carrie June 26, 2011 at 5:58 pm

These look very good!! Looking forward to making these….I was wondering what kind of coffee you use for the cupcakes? Should I just use a basic Folgers french roast, or splurge for a nice Starbucks coffee?
I was also wondering if you knew the tip # that you used for the piping?

Thanks for the recipe!!

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avatar 56 MICHAEL BLACK July 5, 2011 at 12:52 pm

I TRIED TO MAKE THIS CAKE FROM INA AND IT FELL IN THE CENTER 3 TIMES..
I WILL TRY THE CUPCAKES HERE AND SEE IF TI WORKS.. I EVEN WENT OUT AND BOUGHT NEW BAKING SODA AND POWDER JUST INCASE… AND THE 3 ONE SUNK TOO.. LOVE THE FROSTING SO CROSS YOUR FINGERS FOR ME…

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avatar 57 Ashley Johnson July 10, 2011 at 9:38 pm

These cupcakes were AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! i love all things chocolate AND organe put TOGETHER like at Trader Joes in the Christmas time they have these chocolate oranges hmmmm they are sooo good so this cupcake recipe hit the spot for me! Thanks

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avatar 58 Kerry September 14, 2011 at 9:54 am

I’m planning on serving these to a group that includes my 1 yr old. To preserve my sanity, I want to leave out the coffee. Any suggestions/substitutions?

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avatar 59 Georgie October 14, 2011 at 1:52 pm

Just leave it out. You don’t need a substitute. Using coffee is usually just there to bring out the chocolatey flavor even more.

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avatar 60 Karen | Divine Dinner Party October 2, 2011 at 7:16 pm

Orange and chocolate makes a very unique and satisfying combination. I can just imagine the frosting melting in my mouth. Can’t wait to try this but I was thinking what kind of coffee I can use for this…. :)

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avatar 61 Nikki November 5, 2011 at 12:46 pm

Hi Jamie, so glad I found your blog, it’s fab! I am going to make these cupcakes and I wondered about the shortening in the icing – is there any particular reason you use it? I’d be very interested to know as we don’t often use shortening in icing in the UK.

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avatar 62 Jamie November 5, 2011 at 1:10 pm

Nikki-
Thanks for stopping by, sometimes I add a little bit of shortening to the cream cheese frosting to make it a bit more stable. It’s definitely not necessary though. Have a delicious day!
-Jamie

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avatar 63 June April 4, 2012 at 10:41 pm

Can this recipe be incorporated into just regular cakes? Sorry, I’m a complete baking novice, so I really don’t know!

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avatar 64 Michelle May 18, 2012 at 5:32 pm

Can I use all butter instead of butter/shortening combo for the frosting?

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avatar 65 Jamie May 24, 2012 at 9:24 am

Michelle-
That should be just fine, the shortening tends to make the frosting a little more stable, but it will taste just fine. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie

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avatar 66 Melissa June 26, 2012 at 11:48 am

Is it okay to leave out the coffee, or must I substitute it with something else?

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avatar 67 Jamie July 16, 2012 at 7:13 pm

Melissa-
You definitely don’t want to leave out the coffee, it will change the structure of the cupcakes if you omit the liquid. If you are against the coffee, I would recommend substituting a cup of hot water. Hope this helps.
-Jamie

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avatar 68 Cynthia September 9, 2012 at 8:56 am

These. Sound. Awesome. I have never tried chocolate + orange before. (I know! Crazy!) But I am pretty picky with what goes with my chocolate. These however, sound incredible enticing. Will try it during the next typhoon here in the Philippines.

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avatar 69 Macarons November 13, 2012 at 8:50 pm

These chocolate cupcakes look tasty and tempting. i can’t wait to make these.

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