Mocha Chocolate Cupcakes

I'm not a big coffee lover. I'm not the type of person who wakes up in the morning and zombie shuffles over towards a warm cup of joe. However, I do live with coffee lovers who can't function without that dark drink. So I decided that I would do a cupcake in honor of them and see if I could incorporate a way to do it so that I, and others who find chocolate just a bit too bitter, would enjoy it as well.

I FOUND SUCCESS.

I found it in a decadent chocolate espresso cake with a cream, sweetened coffee buttercream and just a delicious drizzle of homemade chocolate sauce. I cannot express how dreamy this cake was and almost made me a lover of coffee! I hope you feel the same!

Mocha Chocolate Cupcakes:
Servings 12

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup water, boiling
2 tablespoons strong coffee, cooled

Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup strong coffee, cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
5-10 cups of powdered sugar

Chocolate Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line your cupcake pan.

2. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large bowl. Whisk to combine well.

3. Add milk, vegetable oil, egg, vanilla and coffee to the flour mixture and mix until well combined. Carefully mix in boiling water. Mix until well combined.

4. Evenly distribute batter into cupcake liners at 2/3 full. 

5. Cake batter will be very liquidy. That is normal. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and allow too cool completely while you make your frosting and chocolate sauce.

7. Put butter, vanilla, and coffee into mixing bowl. Beat together until creamy. 

8. Slowly mix in a cup of powdered sugar at a time until desired consistency.

9. For the chocolate sauce, add the ingredients to a saucepan. Stir together.

10. Bring to a boil, continually stirring until smooth. Boil for roughly 2 minutes.

11. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

12. Remove your cupcakes from the pan, top with coffee buttercream and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

ENJOY!!