Mocha Cupcakes

These cupcakes are a coffee lover's dream—fluffy chocolate cupcakes topped with a coffee-flavored frosting. They are perfect for anyone looking for adult-friendly birthday cupcakes!

It’s no secret that I love cupcakes, they are my favorite bake to eat and photograph! So, if you’re looking for other grown-up-friendly cupcake recipes, try these Salted Caramel Vanilla Cupcakes or this recipe for Lemon Meringue Cupcakes.

Ingredients

These coffee cupcakes use the simple ingredients listed below. Make sure you are using fresh room temperature ingredients.

• Sunflower oil
• Extra-large eggs
• Granulated white sugar
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Self-raising flour
• Baking soda
• Strong brewed coffee
• Whole milk
• Ground espresso beans 
• Vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar
• Unsalted butter
• Instant espresso powder
• Hot water
• Caramel
• Chocolate vermicelli 

Sunflower oil – This cupcake recipe uses oil instead of butter for extra moistness! Use neutral-tasting vegetable oil for this recipe like sunflower or canola oil.

Cocoa powder – use a quality unsweetened cocoa powder. Sweetened cocoa powders can leave an artificial aftertaste.

Self-raising flour – using self-raising flour cuts baking time but if you can’t find self-raising flour use a combination of cake flour and baking powder sifted together. 

Coffee – this recipe uses ground espresso beans in the cupcake batter and instant espresso powder in the buttercream. Make sure you are using strong great-tasting coffee as the quality of the coffee will affect the coffee flavor of this cupcake greatly.

Caramel – for this recipe use store-bought caramel or dulce de leche. I have used the Nestlé caramel treat, however, you can choose to make your own caramel if you’d prefer.

Chocolate vermicelli – I decorated these cupcakes with chocolate vermicelli, do the same or use chocolate-coated espresso beans.

Instructions

Follow the simple steps below to make these moist chocolate cupcakes and the fluffy mocha buttercream frosting.

instructions for chocolate cupcakes

STEP 1: Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line 24 cupcake liners into two 12-hole cupcake pans.

STEP 2: Beat oil, eggs, and sugar. Add the eggs, sugar, and oil to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until well combined.

STEP 3: Sift dry ingredients. Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and bicarbonate of soda. 

STEP 4: Add dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, and beat at medium speed until just combined.

STEP 5: Combine wet ingredients. In a jug mix together the milk, brewed coffee, and vanilla. 

STEP 6: Add wet ingredients. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the egg and flour mixture, with the mixer’s motor running at low speed. Mix until just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix again, ensuring it is lump-free. 

STEP 8: Bake. Using a jug, pour the batter into cupcake liners two-thirds of the way up the liner. Bake in a preheated oven for about 15 - 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

instructions for frosting

STEP 1: Combine icing sugar and butter. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add the icing sugar and unsalted butter. Beat at medium-low speed until combined. The mixture will look like fine sand.

STEP 2: Add milk and vanilla. Combine the milk and vanilla together in a small jug and slowly add this to the icing sugar mixture with the motor running at low speed. Once added increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes.

STEP 3: Add coffee. Mix together the espresso powder and hot water in a small bowl until the coffee has dissolved. Add the coffee mixture to the buttercream and beat the frosting at medium-high speed. 

STEP 4: Beat until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat the frosting at medium-high speed until it is well combined, light, and fluffy. 

STEP 5: Fill piping bags. Add the frosting to a disposable piping bag fitted with your chosen nozzle. Then add the dulce de leche to a second piping bag and cut off the tip off of the piping bag. 

STEP 6: Decorate. Use an apple corer to remove the center of each cupcake. Fill the center with the caramel then pipe a swirl of coffee buttercream onto the top of the cupcake. Sprinkle the cupcakes with chocolate vermicelli.

Hint: I often get asked how to get buttercream fluffy. The secret is in the whipping of the butter. Make sure the butter is at room temperature and that you beat the frosting for long enough during the final stage.

Substitutions

These cupcakes can also be made egg-free. Follow the instructions in this recipe for Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes.

Variations

If you can’t find caramel or have no time to make it, you can choose not to include it. Just top the chocolate cupcakes with the coffee buttercream, they will be just as delicious.

Equipment

For this recipe, I recommend using an electric stand mixer or hand mixer. This is especially important for the coffee buttercream, to get it light and fluffy.

You will also need two 12-hole cupcake pans, 24 cupcake liners, 2 disposable piping bags, and a piping tip. If you don’t have cupcake decorating equipment, you can use a spoon and knife to fill and swirl these cupcakes.

Storage

Cupcakes cool pretty quickly so frost them the same day that they are baked. This prevents them from drying out on top. If you don’t have time to decorate the cupcakes the same day as baking them, store them in an airtight container or cover the cupcake trays in plastic wrap until the next day.

Once the cupcakes are frosted keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days out of direct sunlight. If the weather is particularly hot, choose to store them in the fridge and bring them to room temperature before eating them.

To freeze these delicious chocolate cupcakes, place any leftover cupcakes in a freezer-safe air-tight container and freeze them for up to three months. Defrost properly before consuming them.

I hope you give this Mocha Cupcake recipe a try, the combination of the chocolate, coffee, and caramel is absolutely delicious. 

If you make these chocolate mocha cupcakes and love them, please leave a comment and star review below – I love hearing from all of you!

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Happy Baking 

With Love, 

Kitty