Mocha Cupcakes

Well I love coffee, so making choosing to make Mocha Cupcakes was an easy decision, yet not so easy feat.

 

The ingredients were not the easiest to track down either, instant espresso powder? (not instant coffee) and coffee extract. I decided to substitute these ingredients with fine ground espresso and a very strong brewed and chilled espresso coffee. I thought they turned out amazingly tasty!

 

The Cupcake:

The cupcake was so delicious and moist right after cooling. It definitely needed to be frosted though to bring in a little bit more sweetness. The mocha flavor was present but not overwhelming, possibly could have even been more coffee tasting.

 

The Frosting:

The frosting! This was another great feat. It is called "seven-minute frosting" yet it took more like 37 minutes, no joke. You have to whisk egg whites until they are fluffy and peaked, and then spend additional time whisking in 230* sugar and corn syrup until cool and firm. 

 

The frosting did call for coffee extract which I substituted for the brewed and chilled espresso, so I am guessing this is what would have made the frosting more brown, rather then the fluffy white I ended up with. 

 

Overall Review:

I did manage to get frustrated with the frosting, but in the end they were worth it! These cupcakes were really quite a treat.

 

My favorite part were the espresso bean garnish. Just a couple sprinkled over the top and the flavor burst into my mouth as I crunched into the beans, covered in light fluffy and sweet frosting and complimented by the moist mocha cake. 

 

This would be the perfect cupcake to make for a special lunch dessert served with coffee.