Mocha Cupcakes with Kahlua Frosting

If you love coffee, you'll love these cupcakes! Ok, let's be honest, even if you don't love coffee you'll probably love these cupcakes :)  Recently, it was my co-worker's birthday so I decided to make some cupcakes to celebrate. When choosing a flavor, I remembered that she always has a large iced coffee with her, so incorporating that into a cupcake seemed like a logical idea. I happened to have instant espresso powder and Kahlua lying around at home, so I spun them into something truly delicious. Make sure you use instant espresso powder for this recipe as it will dissolve nicely into the batter and frosting. Regular espresso powder will not dissolve and will be grainy... yuck.  To date, I have received more compliments on these cupcakes than anything else I have ever made, so needless to say they will be a go-to recipe for a crowd pleasing dessert! Yum :o)

Mocha Cupcakes with Kahlua Frosting

Makes about 30 cupcakes

Mocha Cupcakes - This is my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe with a twist. I added a little espresso powder to try to make a chocolate-coffee (mocha) cupcake. The end result was a cupcake with a very mild coffee flavor, but a stronger chocolate flavor. I actually liked it so much that I think I will always add a little espresso powder to all of my chocolate cakes from now on!

Ingredients

2 cups white sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tbsp. instant espresso powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, espresso, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat with a mixer until well combined. Add the boiling water and beat carefully until combined. Batter will be very thin… it’s ok!

For cupcakes, prepare pan with liners. Fill each cup 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. This should make around 30 cupcakes. (Batter could also be made into a cake by pouring into 2 9-inch round cake pans and baking for about 30-35 minutes). 

Kahlua Frosting

Ingredients: 

Frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
3 tbsp. Kahlua coffee liquor
1 tbsp hot water
1 tsp instant espresso granules
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

In a small bowl, dissolve the espresso in the hot water. Stir in the Kahlua and vanilla and set aside. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter in a separate bowl until light and fluffy.  Slowly beat in the confectioner’s sugar. Beat in the liquids and continue mixing until frosting is light and fluffy (you might need a little more or less sugar depending on how you pack or measure your sugar, but 3 cups worked perfectly for me).

Once the cupcakes are cooled, frost each with the Kahlua frosting. Top with a chocolate covered espresso bean (optional, but yummy!). Enjoy! :o)