Coffee Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream are delicious. Moist coffee cupcakes, with velvety smooth chocolate coffee icing. A lovely treat for any occasion, and super easy to make!
These are, honestly, up there with Red Velvet Cupcakes as my favourite cupcakes ever. The combination of coffee and chocolate, with sweet, creamy buttercream is fantastic.
They have this awesome velvety texture, with a bit of a bite from the coffee and it just works. I could eat them all of the time.
The funny thing is, I don’t like coffee cake. As much as I like coffee, I don’t like coffee flavoured foods (coffee chocolates can get right in the bin!) and I’d never order coffee cake in a shop or restaurant.
I’m not that keen on carrot cake either though, but think my own is pretty amazing!
But, this coffee cake is different.
My Easy Coffee Cupcakes use the same recipe as my coffee loaf cake, just reduced a little bit.
The flavour is so lovely. You can taste coffee, but they are light, fluffy, and sweet. I love them.
This Recipe for Coffee Cupcakes is absolutely one of my favourites, and actually I’ve started to adapt other buttercream recipes, because this Mocha Frosting is a little different, and it’s sooooo smooth, I have to try to replicate the texture with other flavours.
Making Coffee Cupcakes
My Coffee Cupcakes Recipe, like my coffee loaf cake, uses instant coffee instead of filtered.
I dissolve the coffee in a splash of boiled water, using just as much as I need to totally dissolve the coffee (probably less than 2tbps), and then leave the coffee to cool before adding it to the cake mix.
It doesn’t need to be cold, but nor should it be hot. Warm is fine.
Aside from that, I stick to the simple sponge recipe that I always use. It’s easy, cheap, and always works well, so I just add different flavours to it.
How to Make Mocha Buttercream Icing
I did consider topping my Coffee Fairy Cakes with coffee buttercream that I use for my other coffee cake, but I wanted to try something different, and I’m very glad that I did!
Coffee Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream Frosting is the most gorgeous combination. The moist coffee cupcakes are the perfect base for a sweeter, chocolatey buttercream.
Just like the coffee cupcakes I add dissolved instant coffee. Again, make sure your coffee has been cooled and is just warm to the touch, or even completely cold.
Adding liquid, even the small amount in the dissolved coffee can totally change the texture of chocolate and coffee buttercream, however.
If your mocha buttercream is too runny, and you don’t want to adjust the flavour by adding more sugar, add a tbsp of cornflour, which will stiffen it without changing the flavour.
How to Make a Mocha Cake
If you prefer, you could make a mocha cake, and top with either this mocha buttercream or my coffee buttercream.
Just follow my coffee cupcakes recipe but substitute 30g of the flour for 30g of cocoa powder. You could also make chocolate cupcakes with mocha buttercream for a change.
Should Cupcakes Be Flat or Domed?
Generally, I prefer my cupcakes relatively flat. It’s easier to decorate, and you get a nice, even cake. Remember, a flatter top doesn’t mean that your cake hasn’t risen, it just means that it has risen evenly all over.
This is a good thing.
If your cakes are very domed, they aren’t cooking evenly.
This can mean that your oven temperature is too high. Too hot an oven will mean that the outsides of your cake cook, and firm up, before the centre, forcing the batter in the middle up as it cooks. Try turning the oven down by 10 degrees.
It might also mean that you have over mixed the batter. You want to mix the sugar and butter well so that it’s light and fluffy and the mixture is even. But, once you add the flour, over mixing is a mistake.
Mix until the batter is even, and then stop.
How High Should Cupcake Cases be Filled?
Another problem might be that you are filling your cases too high when you are baking easy coffee cupcakes.
Don’t fill cake cases any more than 2/3s of the way up.
Why is My Buttercream Too Runny?
Runny buttercream is a problem. It won’t pipe on neatly, and you’ll just end up with blobs. If it’s too runny, it might just run off completely.
The easiest way to stiffen your buttercream up is to add more cocoa or icing sugar. But, this will change the taste of your Mocha Buttercream.
If you’d rather maintain the flavour a tsp of cornflour can help. I wouldn’t add much more though, because it can leave a chalky aftertaste.
Alternately, you could try chilling your buttercream in the fridge for an hour or so. This can help it to set and stabilise and make piping easier.
Why is My Buttercream Too Stiff?
On the other hand, your buttercream might be too stiff to pipe. I’ve broken piping bags trying to squeeze out stiff buttercream.
Adding a little milk, or water is the easiest way to loosen it up a little bit. But make sure you only add a little at a time, mixing in well before adding more.
How to Fix Grainy or Split Buttercream
If your buttercream for your coffee cakes has split it might mean that the coffee was a little too warm when you added it to the mixture.
There are a few things that you can try when it comes to rescuing buttercream. First, mix more. Graininess might just mean that you need to mix for longer, and sometimes even split buttercream can be brought back together.
Next, you can try letting your buttercream rest in the fridge for an hour (even overnight if you can).
If this doesn’t work, try whisking in some cooled, melted chocolate. 50g of even dark or milk chocolate should do.
Coffee Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream
Ingredients
For the Coffee Cakes
- 120 g Butter or Margarine (At room temperature)
- 120 g Caster Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 2 tablespoon Instant Coffee (Dissolved in a splash of boiled water and left to cool)
- 140 g Self Raising Flour
For the Mocha Buttercream
- 150 g Butter (At room temperature)
- 300 g Icing Sugar
- 30 g Cocoa
- 2 tablespoons Instant Coffee (Dissolved in a splash of boiled water and left to cool)
Instructions
For the Cakes
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees (fan assisted) and place 12 cupcake cases in a cupcake tin.
- Cream together the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy (longer if mixing by hand).
- Add the eggs, mixing in one at a time.
- Stir in the cooled coffee.
- Sift in the flour and mix until combined.
- Add a spoon of cake batter to each cupcake case.
- Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, taking out when a skewer comes out clean, or the centre is firm, without a wobble.
- Carefully remove from the tin and cool fully on a wire rack.
For the Mocha Buttercream
- Beat the butter until smooth.
- Add the icing sugar and cocoa and beat until there are no lumps.
- Pour in the coffee and stir through thoroughly.
- Once the cakes are completely cool, pipe or spoon on the buttercream.
Notes
- If your buttercream is too stiff, add a tiny bit of milk, stirring through well before adding more.
- The coffee can be warm to the touch, but no hotter as this will cause the mixture to split.
- Check your cakes after 12 minutes, but they may need longer.
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
