I made these cupcakes a while back for my friend’s birthday. It was fitting that she thought of something coffee/mocha-flavored for me to make when I asked her what she was thinking in terms of b-day treats, because we’ve had our fare share of mochas together over the years. You see, I’ve known her for 11 years, almost to the day, when we met at freshman orientation at Uconn in Spring of 2009. After that, we had some awkward 17-year-old girl exchanges via Facebook messages, until we finally somehow popped the roommate question to each other a few weeks before move-in day. We studied our nerdy hearts out over the next few years at the campus library, where we looked forward to going way too much on weekends and weekday afternoons, so we could get our knowledge on as we drank Iced Mochas from the library’s cafe, Bookworms.
They were the best iced mochas we’d ever had, and will ever have. Probably clocking in at 900 calories a piece (they only came in one size: large), they were creamy and chocolaty, all the while ferociously coffee-flavored, so we could pretend that we just needed one for that day’s caffeine intake. We were college students, after all. We got piles of whipped cream on top, and an extra drizzle of mocha syrup, just because we were paying with Husky points and nothing really mattered back then.
I once read about this rating system where you can only rate a food or drink a 10 if it makes you cry. Considering I’m tearing up at the thought of them, I’d say it qualifies. I still think about those Iced Mochas to this day, and I thought about them as I made these cupcakes for my dear, dear friend of 11 years.
Inspired by Bookworm’s Iced Mocha w/ Whipped, these cupcakes are chocolate-based, filled with mocha ganache. The frosting is an espresso buttercream. Topped with more mocha ganache and a Dark Chocolate Oreo, they’re a delicious buzz of chocolate and espresso. The perfect mocha cupcake. Almost as good as the beverage I so fondly remember. Find yourself an iced mocha that can make you cry and never let it go. And in the meantime, just make yourself some of these cupcakes.
Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Frosting
Ingredients
Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup milk
For the Mocha Ganache:
- 1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream 4 oz
- 2 tsp instant coffee/instant espresso
For the Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 sticks
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp espresso powder
- 14-16 Dark Chocolate Oreos
- Mini chocolate chips optional
Instructions
Instructions:
For the Cupcakes:
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Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line 14-16 muffin cups with cupcake liners. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder and set aside. Use a standing mixer or hand-mixer to cream the butter. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix to combine. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each one until smooth.
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On the lowest speed, alternately add the dry ingredients in three additions and the milk in two. Beat only until smooth and fully combined, you don’t want to overwork the batter.
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Scoop the batter into the prepared pans filling each about two-thirds full. Bake the cupcakes for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the muffin tins for about 5 minutes and then remove them to a rack and let cool completely. Once cooled, use a spoon to scoop out a little chunk from the middle of the cupcake. You will be filling the cupcake with mocha ganache. Save the chunks to replace the tops after you fill them.
For the Mocha Ganache:
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Place the chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl, set aside
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Put the heavy cream into a small sauce pan on medium heat, until it just starts to bubble.
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Once the cream is boiling stir in the instant coffee and remove from heat.
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Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for about 5 minutes so that the chocolate melts.
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Using a whisk slowly stir the chocolate until it has completely mixed with the cream and no lumps of chocolate remain.
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Allow to cool and thicken as the cupcakes bake and cool.
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Use a spoon to drizzle some ganache in the middle of each cupcake. Then, replace the cupcake chunk on top of the ganache.
For the Espresso Frosting:
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In a small bowl, whisk the espresso powder into the vanilla until dissolved; set aside.
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Using the whisk attachment of an electric mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar a little at a time, waiting until it is mostly incorporated before adding more. Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, scrape the sides of the bowl and increase the speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the espresso and vanilla mixture and continue to mix at medium-high speed until it is completely incorporated, scraping the sides as necessary. Frost the cupcakes as desired.
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Top with more ganache and a Dark Chocolate Oreo and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips (optional).