Coffee Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream

These coffee cupcakes with coffee buttercream are all about coffee. There's coffee in the cupcakes and more coffee in the buttercream. And that is not all, there are also coffee-flavored chocolate chips in the cupcakes!

These coffee cupcakes are adapted from my coffee-flavored cake. They are made with the base of a pound cake recipe and adjusted by including coffee and coffee-flavored chocolate chips in the batter.

The cupcakes turn out superbly moist and fluffy, just like my coffee-flavored cake, and the aroma of coffee in my kitchen every time I bake these cupcakes is absolutely pleasant.

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How to Make

These cupcakes are easy to make. Let's look at the ingredients and the making method.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• Self-raising flour + baking powder + salt
• Granulated sugar
• Butter
• Eggs
• Instant coffee + hot water
• Milk
• Coffee-flavored chocolate chips

Coffee Buttercream Frosting

• Icing sugar
• Shortening
• Butter
• Instant coffee + hot water
• Milk
• Milk chocolate coins

Mixing the batter

• The cupcakes are made using the creaming method, which means butter and sugar are creamed until light and fluffy before other ingredients are added in.
• To begin with, mix instant coffee and hot water. Set it aside to cool to room temperature.

1. In a large bowl, add butter and sugar and beat until they light and fluffy. This should take about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl at least once.
2. Next, add the eggs, one at a time. Each time, beat until all traces of the egg are no longer visible.
3. Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder. Fold this mixture into the creamed mixture in 3 batches. Alternate each batch with milk, starting and ending with flour.
4. Next, add the diluted coffee. Give the cake batter a good mix, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. This is to make sure the cake batter is evenly colored as coffee changes the color of the batter to a light brown.
5. Scoop the batter into prepared cupcake casings. Sprinkle the top of each cupcake with coffee-flavored chocolate chips.
6. Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Remove the cupcakes from oven and let them cool down completely before frosting.

Making the coffee buttercream

• Dilute coffee in hot water. Set it aside to cool.
• In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter and shortening until creamy. Add in the sifted icing sugar and continue beating until the mixture turns smooth.
• Add the diluted coffee and continue beating until the buttercream is all smooth and evenly colored.
• If it is too stiff, add some milk. Start with 1 tablespoon and increase gradually until you achieve your desired consistency. Since the buttercream will be used for piping work, it should not be too soft.

Frosting the cupcakes

• Fit your piping bag with star tip 2D. Fill the piping bag with coffee buttercream.

• Pipe simple swirls on each cupcake and top with a milk chocolate coin to complete the cupcakes.

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Notes

Best type of coffee to use

• These cupcakes are best made using instant coffee (powdered or granules). It is easier to mix the coffee into a thick solution than the ground filtered coffee. I used instant coffee powder to flavor my coffee cupcakes.
• You can also use filtered coffee but the results might vary. And if you do, make sure the coffee is not too diluted.

Can you exclude the coffee-flavored chocolate chips?

• You certainly can. The omission will not alter the texture of the cupcakes. If you prefer the cupcakes without the coffee-flavored chips, simply omit them from the recipe.

Can you substitute the coffee-flavored chocolate chips with milk or dark chocolate chips?

• If you do not have coffee flavored chocolate chips, you can always replace them with milk or dark chocolate chips.

Why does the batter curdle and how to avoid it?

• When making these cupcakes, if either the butter or eggs are cold, your batter will tend to curdle when the eggs are added in.
• This happens mostly when either the eggs or butter are cold. If both are cold, this will not happen, but since butter is hard when cold, you would naturally wait for it to warm up a little. Adding cold eggs to the creamed butter and sugar will cause curdling.
• To prevent this, keep the eggs at room temperature.
• However, if for some reason, the batter still curdles, fold in the flour (in small batches) to the curdled mixture until it is no longer curdled. And then proceed with the milk and coffee solution as stated in the recipe.

How much batter?

• The cupcakes rise well during baking. And so it is important not to overfill the cupcakes batter into the casings to avoid the batter from overflowing when baking.
• Ideally, fill the cupcake casings to only about two thirds full. The cupcakes will rise during baking and this will ensure they have enough room to expand without unsightly overflows.

Cupcakes sizes and baking time

• The baking time for these cupcakes will vary depending on the size of the cupcakes. I baked mine in cupcake casings measuring 4 cm in diameter at the bottom and 7 cm in diameter at the top, with a height of 2.5cm.
• If your casings are larger than this, you would need to increase your baking time accordingly.

How to ensure the cupcakes are moist?

• The first tip is to not overbake them. Overbaking will result in dry cupcakes.
• The other tip to ensure your cupcakes remain truly moist is to keep them covered while cooling down. Cover them with a kitchen towel while you leave them out to cool. This will help the cupcakes remain moist and do not dry out.

How to store?

• Keep the coffee cupcakes in an airtight container once they have cooled down to keep them moist.
• These coffee cupcakes last at room temperature for a good 4 to 5 days. After that, you will see the cupcake casings pulling off the cupcakes. Hence, it is best to consume them within 3 to 4 days.

Like this coffee treat? Here are my other recipes you might want to check out

• Coffee Flavored Cake with Coffee Buttercream Frosting
• Coffee Jelly - An Easy Homemade Coffee Dessert
• Oreo Strawberry Cheesecake - Creamy Cheesecake with Fresh Strawberries
• Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Coffee Rolls with Coffee Cream Cheese Glaze
• Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Instant Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chunks - Easy & Moist

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Recipe (Printable)

Here is the full printable version of my coffee cupcakes recipe.

And that’s my coffee cupcakes for you!

Happy baking 🙂