I think there's nothing worse than getting one of those delicious looking, expensive, fancy decorated cupcakes and realising you can't eat it because it's basically 50% bland tasteless packet mix cake and 50% over-sugary buttercream.
Another thing that irks me is how you decide to bake some at home, follow a recipe to the t and end up with far less cakes than the recipe states but enough buttercream to frost 10 dozen cupcakes.
Well it's not going to happen here because this is one of my tried and trusted recipes, you will get perfect results with this and just enough buttercream frosting to cover 16-18 cupcakes, (unless you like it piled sky high then I would suggest you double it!)
These sweet little cupcakes are delicious, the cake part is nice and moist, very chocolatey with a background hit of coffee. The buttercream frosting is sweet, as buttercream always is, but this has a good depth of coffee flavour which cuts the sweetness nicely. They are easily decorated with cadbury's flake, as in the picture, but I have also just dusted these lightly with cocoa when I haven't had any flake chocolate.
For the Cupcakes:
1/2 cup hot freshly brewed strong coffee
11/2 teaspoons instant espresso or regular coffee
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract/essence
1 1/3 cups standard flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
100g soft butter
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup light brown soft sugar
1 egg
For the Buttercream:
100g soft butter
2 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract/essence
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water
The recipe makes 16 - 18 cakes, you will need a muffin tin/patty tin and paper liners. Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees c.
Mix the espresso powder into the hot coffee and stir until dissolved. Add the milk and vanilla then set aside.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Next cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, add the egg and beat well. Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the coffee/milk mixture. Make sure the mixture is well blended.
Fill the paper cases 2/3 full. Bake the trays for 17 - 20 mins. They are cooked when they look well risen and spring back in the centre when you gently press them.
Cool in the tin for a few minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
While they are cooling make the buttercream:
Whip the butter for 4-5 minutes until it becomes very pale and light, obviously this is much easier using an electric mixer. Then sift in the icing sugar and mix gently to start with, when it has all been incorporated add the vanilla and the coffee and whip/beat it for 2 minutes. It should be soft, light and smooth. Spoon it into a piping bag and decorate your cupcakes however you like. I piped a nice swirl on mine and crumbled some flake chocolate over the tops. The frosting can also be easily spread on with a knife if you prefer not to pipe.
Then came the giant oatmeal cookies, but I'll tell you all about them next time.
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