This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy.
[donotprint]
If you love cupcakes, you’ve come to the right place because I am all about cupcakes right now. They’re adorable, portable and delicious, so what’s not to love, right?
Are you a coffee lover too? I sure hope so, because today’s recipe is full of coffee flavor and the perfect cure for that midday slump. I’m a café mocha enthusiast, so I wanted to try to encompass the intense flavor of one of my favorite Starbucks beverages into cupcake form.
I started with a rich, coffee infused chocolate cake and topped that off with a velvety, sweet espresso infused buttercream. As though they weren’t decadent enough, I had to finish them off with a chocolate drizzle and a chocolate covered coffee bean. Take these into the office or your next meeting and you’ll have a happy staff that are guaranteed to be alert!
[/donotprint]
Café Mocha Cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
1 ½ teaspoons instant espresso granules
For the frosting
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
pinch of fine grain sea salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 tablespoon instant espresso granules dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water
3-6 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
Directions:
For the Cupcakes
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
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.
3. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. Add the 1 ½ teaspoons of espresso granules to the cup of hot coffee and stir to combine. With mixer still on low, add in the coffee/espresso mixture and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. Using a large scoop (about 3 tablespoons), distribute the batter into the prepared muffin tins.
5. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then remove them onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
For the frosting
1. In a large bowl, sift together the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Slowly add in confectioner’s sugar/cocoa powder mixture, and continue creaming until well blended.
3. Add salt, vanilla, 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk and espresso/water. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add an additional 1 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk until you reach the desired consistency. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.
For the garnish
Place 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Heat the chips on 50% power in 30 seconds increments until chocolate is melted. Drizzle over cupcakes and finish with a chocolate covered coffee bean.
Notes:
- You can easily adjust the consistency of this recipe by simply adding in more heavy cream or milk.
- Cake adapted from Ina Garten
Follow Jamie on Instagram. We love to see what you're baking from MBA! Be sure to tag @jamiemba and use the hashtag #mbarecipes!
Ohh boy I so want to make these now!! They look delicious!! Can someone explain to me about the 1cup brewed coffee. Do i make it strong or to my tasting? And for the espresso can I use cafe bustelo? And if I use all-purpose flour will it destroy the moistness of this awesome cupcake? Thanks!
I used expresso coffee, i figured that since the recipe ask you too put some more “instant coffee” in your freshly breew coffee that means that u need a strong flavored coffee.
Same thing with the icing, i switch some milk for some freshly brewed expresso.
These look absolutely amazing. I am a HUGE fan of using black coffee in my chocolate baked goods–I mean, what’s better than coffee and chocolate? It brings out the chocolate tones and has that extra something. Yum! It seems like there would be a lot of frosting? Did you end up having leftovers, and does it freeze well? Thanks!
I have never tried to freeze the icing, we like a lot of frosting around here, so we pile it on! Have a great day.
-Jamie
Hi!
This recipe looks amazing, I just don’t know what espresso granules are or what a good substitute for them might be? Have any suggestions?
Thanks!
Ursula-
Instant espresso granules are usually found in the coffee aisle of grocery stores. If you can’t find them, ask the store manager and they should be able to direct you to them or order them for you. Hope this helps.
-Jamie
The cake was sooooooo moist. I love it, and I think it is going to be my go to chocolate cake recipe!!!! Yummy!!
Uhm Yum!!!! Thanks for sharing
Made these for my coffee loving mom as an early Valentine’s Day present and they were phenomenal!!! This was the best dessert that I have ever made, thanks for the recipe! I did add some extra espresso to the buttercream for more coffee flavor, and the texture of the cupcake is perfect, nice and light and airy!
YUM! I love your website, so glad I found it!
These cupcakes look gorgeous! :) is it possible to replace the vegetable oil for melted butter instead?
Hi,
I made these cupcakes today and have to say they didnt come out very well! The mixture itself was very runny…maybe the recipe is wrong??? This made the cupcakes way too soft with a very unusual texture and they stuck to the cupcake casings! Any advice???
Boo-
I just double checked the recipe and it is definitely correct. The recipe is from Ina Garten – Beatty’s Cake. I adapted it slightly from Food Network. The batter is definitely thin, but bakes up for me well every time. Sorry I am not more of a help.
Jamie
I like to bake cupcakes and the runny mixture actually didn’t surprise me..but after baked, my cupcakes turned out same like Boo’s cupcakes…lots of it just stick to the bottom of the paper …
I’m sorry that you had difficulty with the recipe. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Just made these last night and while I was worried because the batter was really runny they turned out perfectly! Very sweet and sticky. Going to frost them with a Caramel Swiss butter cream (going for the caramel espresso coffee theme) — thanks for the inspiration!
Me, too! I had a little panic attack when my batter was watery–I thought I had missed or mixed up a step!
Love this recipe – have made it several times. It is so moist and delish, and it is also amazing with cream cheese frosting! Tried it in a bundt pan, too. Gets raves every time! Thanks!