Homemade Coffee Cupcakes

Name: Coffee Cupcakes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 24 min
Total time: 69 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa; ¼ cup espresso powder; 1 ½ cups boiling water; 3 large eggs; ¾ cup vegetable oil; ½ cup sour cream; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour; 2 cups sugar; 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; buttercream icing

ByLynda March 1, 2022January 2, 2023

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This Chocolate Mocha Coffee Cupcakes recipe combines chocolate and coffee to make the best chocolate cupcakes. Chocolate and coffee lovers alike will love these chocolate coffee cupcakes which are topped with sweet homemade buttercream.

Coffee cupcake topped with buttercream frosting and an Andes mint.

Have a special occasion coming up and looking for the perfect chocolate cupcake recipe? These Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes are a delicious way to celebrate every special occasion. Or just because.

I adapted the Food Network’s Basic Chocolate Cake recipe and added a little instant espresso. Because chocolate and coffee go together like peanut butter and jelly. For real. The espresso helps to intensify the chocolate flavor.

What’s not to love about more chocolate-y goodness? Nothing. That’s what.

🥘 Ingredients

To make these incredibly delicious chocolate cupcakes, you need the following ingredients:

1 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
¼ cup espresso powder
1 ½ cups boiling water
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
3 large eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
buttercream icing

🔪How To Make Coffee Cupcakes

To make them, you start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You can either spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray or use paper or silicone liners. My favorite liners are parchment paper.

Next, whisk together the cocoa and espresso powder in a medium-sized bowl. Add boiling water to the cocoa mixture and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set the flour mixture to the side.

Combine eggs, oil, sour cream, and vanilla at low speed in the bowl of an electric mixer.

Turn off the mixer and add the cocoa mixture and dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Turn the mixer on low speed to blend the ingredients. Increase the speed on the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for 2 minutes to create a smooth cake batter.

Using a large cookie scoop, add two scoops of batter to the muffin cups.

⏲️ Baking time

Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool on a wire rack before decorating with buttercream.

Chocolate cupcakes topped with buttercream frosting.

💭Recipe Notes

Don’t have espresso powder? In a pinch, you can use instant coffee in its place.
For a special touch, top each frosted cupcake with a chocolate-covered coffee bean.

📖Topping Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting and chocolate chips.

A simple buttercream icing is the perfect topping for chocolate cupcakes because buttercream + chocolate = love.

I decorate the cupcakes in a couple of different ways: with a simple swirl of buttercream, with a few chocolate chips, and with an Andes mint perched on top.

You could add jimmies, sprinkles, premade cupcake toppers, or just leave them with plain, luscious buttercream.

FAQs

How do you store cupcakes?

Store frosted cupcakes uncovered at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Can you freeze cupcakes?

Baked and cooled unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to 2 months. Place cupcakes in a ziptop freezer bag. Be sure to remove as much excess air as possible before zipping shut.

Have a sweet tooth? Be sure to check out these other sweet treats at Southern Kissed:

Be sure to come back and tell us how your Coffee Cupcakes turned out!

Lynda

My name is Lynda and I am a recovering sugar addict and travel junkie. I'm also a mom of two children & 2 dogs, wife of 1....and a messy cook taking life one bite at a time.