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If you love coffee and chocolate then these cupcakes are made for you! I made a really moist and fluffy chocolate cupcake with a healthy dose of espresso then topped is with an espresso buttercream that’s to die for. These are actually the cupcake version of my Mocha Cake, which I highly recommend if you enjoy this flavor profile. If you’re worried about caffeine or like to eat cake at night then it’s totally fine to use decaffeinated coffee in this recipe. instead of the espresso powder in the buttercream you can use caffein-free instant coffee.
I love chocolate and coffee so why not bring them together?! You might have noticed most of my chocolate cakes having a healthy splash of coffee; it really amps up the chocolate flavor. For this recipe I went all in on the espresso! There’s a lot in the batter and the buttercream is flavored with instant espresso and a splash or cocoa powder. In the mood to try more easy cupcake recipes? Check out my homemade vanilla cupcake recipe!
A Few Hints and Tips
- If you want to add a little something extra to the recipe you can hollow the cupcake out and fill it with chocolate ganache. I use a cupcake corer for this but a spoon or large piping tip works too.
- To make the chocolate ganache melt half a cup of nice chocolate with a third a cup of cream and spoon into the hollowed out cupcake.
- You can make a ganache with any liquid really so go ahead and add coffee, brandy, bourbon or whatever else you desire instead of the cream! If you don’t have chocolate covered espresso beans handy you can always add a drizzle of ganache on top of the buttercream for some contrast.
How to Make mocha Cupcakes
1. Add the wet ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients (including the sugar) into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine.
3. Add the wet ingredients the dry ingredients.
4. Distribute batter evenly to cupcake papers.
5. In a medium bowl, sift the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa.
6. Add espresso powder.
7. Remove the core of the cupcake.
8. Drizzle chocolate ganache.
9. Pipe buttercream.
If you’ve tried these cupcakes then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Mocha Cupcakes Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Mixing Bowls
- Two 12-cup cupcake tins
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- 2⅔ cups granulated sugar (534g)
- 3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder (18g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup whole or low-fat buttermilk room temperature (240ml)
- ¾ cup vegetable oil (180ml)
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream room temperature (120g)
- ½ cup water (120ml)
- 1¼ cups hot coffee (300ml)
For the Buttercream:
- 7½ cups powdered sugar (900g)
- 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature (226g)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream (90ml)
Filling & Assembly:
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips (90g)
- ⅓ cup heavy cream (80ml)
- 12 chocolate covered espresso beans (optional)
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Arrange both oven racks towards the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners.
- To a large bowl sift in the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk and set aside.
- To another large bowl add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, sour cream, and water. Whisk until fully combined. While whisking, pour in the hot coffee. Add the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, and whisk until no dry streaks remain.
- Fill each cupcake liner until almost full (about ⅓ cup each). Bake for 15 minutes. Carefully swap the pans between the oven rack, and continue baking for another 5-8 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then carefully remove them and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Buttercream:
- In a large bowl sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and espresso powder. Set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and salt on medium-high speed until lightened in color, very fluffy, and smooth, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar mixture in 1 cup at a time. Once all the sugar is incorporated, increase speed to medium-low and add in the vanilla and heavy cream. Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a closed star tip (Ateco 858.)
For the Filling & Assembly:
- To a small microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream. Microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between each, until fully melted and smooth. Set it aside to cool slightly while you core the cupcakes.
- Once the cupcakes have fully cooled, use an apple corer or knife to remove the center of each cupcake being careful not to cut through to the bottom. (You only need to go about an inch deep.) Trim the bottom of the removed center leaving a half inch piece of the top.
- Fill each cupcake hole with 1 teaspoon of the ganache and top with the reserved cupcake centers. Pipe the buttercream on top of the cupcakes, and garnish with a chocolate covered espresso bean.
Notes
- If your cupcakes bake up wide, flat, or sink in the center, check your leavening measurement. I can tell you exactly what that issue looks like because I produced it in testing! With too much baking powder and soda, the batch rose fast, collapsed in the center, and set with a thin, crisp top. Excess leavening inflates the batter beyond what its structure can hold. Be sure to level off your teaspoons when measuring the leaveners.
- Don’t forget to swap the pans between oven racks. This helps them bake evenly since the heat doesn't circulate as efficiently when both racks are full. Wait the full 15 minutes of bake time too, though. Moving them too soon can cause the delicate batter to collapse since the structure hasn’t set enough yet.
Nutrition
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