Mocha Cupcakes With Coffee Buttercream

Finally the Rain God did some wonders and it rained this weekend. Just when I was packing up my stuff, wishing good weekend to my mates, I heard the roaring thunder and saw outside the window pane of my office. It was around 5.30 in the evening and the sky looked completely taken over by the mighty noir clouds. They looked really promising, as if they were ready to prove their strength to the pitiless Sun. All against the odds, they were surely going to win this time. To escape the long traffic jam due to heavy rains, I boarded the office cab hurriedly. I wanted to reach home as soon as possible.

There was something running parallel at the back of my mind. It was weekend, so was the time for the weekend ritual. I quickly ran through the ingredients list of these Mocha Cupcakes and started figuring out, what is that which I don’t have in my mini baking pantry at home. Apart from few of them, I had almost everything. I was relieved that remaining ones would be easily available at the local grocer of my community. By the time, it had started pouring cats and dogs. I still felt lucky to manage to escape from the traffic jam. You must be wondering, what is this rush, when I had a weekend at hand. Actually, this was the alternate weekend, when I had to visit my parents as well. I didn’t want to miss the fun of surprising the kids at home. It was really the moment of truth , I was surrounded by the kids and I was opening the box. And the excitement and the happiness on the face of each one of them, was something which can’t be compared with anything else.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

160 gm all-purpose flour
40 gm unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
½ cup strong brewed coffee
1½ teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100 gm butter at room temprature
½ cup sugar, powdered
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature

Coffee Buttercream

100 gm unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons espresso powder
4 tbsp milk

Instructions

1. For cupcakes, mix all the dry ingredients and keep aside.
2. Whip the butter with both the sugars until light and fluffy.
3. Add in egg and whip thoroughly.
4. Mix coffee with vanilla extract and milk separately in a bowl. Add flour to egg mixture alternating with coffee and milk mixture until all the flour and coffee are incorporated.
5. Divide the batter in 12 cups and bake in 180 degree Celsius oven for around 17-20 minutes or until cupcakes are springy when touched on top. Let them cool completely.
6. For the frosting, whip butter at medium high speed for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.
7. Mix in the sugar and whip at low speed and then at medium high speed. Add milk and vanilla extract and whip again for 4-5 minutes.
8. Scoop the frosting into a piping bag and apply onto cupcakes.