Happy Monday! Who needed an extra caffeine fix to jump start their week? I definitely did. However, although I could have used the extra pick me up, I did not indulge. I love the taste of coffee, but it tends to make me too jittery. So I decided to get my caffeine fix a different way. Can you guess how?
If you guessed by eating a chocolate espresso cupcake, then you’d be right! I actually started making these cupcakes on Friday. The backstory behind them is a little amusing though and one worth sharing.
I had signed up to bring a dessert to a prayer night I was attending. Naturally I wanted to bring something homemade. Work had been decently hectic that day, and since I was fasting for the prayer night, I was pretty low on blood sugar.
I came home with a little over an hour to bake something and had a fully stocked pantry. The world was my oyster. Usually this is a glorious thing, but for someone who is bad at making decisions, short on time and low on blood sugar, I couldn’t decide what to make. So, I decided to make it all!
I came to the conclusion that I wanted to bake 3 different types of cookies, a batch of cupcakes, AND buffalo chicken dip.
Well, I got through the buffalo chicken dip with no problem, but since I had spent so long trying to make a decision, I was running out of time to make the rest. The cupcakes came out of the oven with only 15 minutes left to cool completely, make the frosting and pipe it on the cupcakes. Not to mention I had cookies that needed to go in the oven (I decided to abandon the idea of making 3 different types of cookies and decided no one would fault me if I just stuck with one).
Ultimately, I ended up running out of time, and brought just the buffalo chicken dip and the batch of cookies. The cookies came out of the oven just as it was time to leave, which resulted in my friend holding the stacked cookie sheets on her lap in the car with oven mitts.
I ended up frosting the cupcakes over the weekend and brought them to church group Sunday afternoon. And now, I get to share them with you all!
These cupcakes are delicious. They are moist, flavorful, and best of all, you can really taste the espresso in the frosting. The chocolate covered espresso bean on top is the perfect finishing touch.
However you choose to energize for the week, I hope you’ll consider adding a chocolate espresso cupcake to the mix every once in a while. Go ahead, treat yourself!
Blessings on your home and table,
Natalie
Chocolate Espresso Cupcake
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup hot coffee strong
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon espresso powder
- 16 chocolate-covered espresso beans for garnish
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1.5 Tablespoons espresso powder
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, combine oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix in half of the flour mixture into the sugar mixture. Stir in the buttermilk. Add remaining half of flour mixture. Stir in hot coffee.
- Evenly distribute batter among muffin tins, filling about 2/3 of the way. Bake 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
Espresso Frosting
- In a small bowl, combine vanilla and espresso powder and let sit until espresso powder dissolves.
- Using an electric mixer, beat butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Mix in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time. Mix in the vanilla/espresso mixture. Frost cupcakes as desired and top with a chocolate-covered espresso bean.
For more cupcake recipes, check out my german chocolate cupcakes!
[…] For more cupcake recipes, check out my chocolate espresso cupcakes! […]