Chocolate Cupcake

I made these for my god-daughter’s birthday celebrations at her kindergarten. Still inspired by the beautiful images in Crabapple Bakery, I adapted the chocolate cupcake recipe and topped it with their vanilla buttercream frosting.

Chocolate Cupcakes
makes 24-30 cupcakes

1 cup or 2 sticks butter
2 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tbs vanilla
3 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp instant coffee
1 cup cocoa
1 cup hot water
1 cup cold water

Preheat the oven at 350F. Cream the butter until pale before adding in the sugar and beating until fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time until well combined then the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. In another bowl, whisk together the coffee, cocoa and hot water until a smooth paste. Stir in the cold water until combined. Into the creamed mixture, add the sifted mixture in three additions, alternating with the cocoa mixture in two additions. The end mixture will be runny. Scoop into cupcake liners.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when touched.

Verdict: The cakes are moist and not overly sweet, perfect for pairing with a buttercream frosting. I’ve frosted these with marshmallow crème and they were a hit as well.