CH#5: Cappuccino Cupcakes
January 21, 2008 at 11:11 am | Posted in cupcakes, events, sweet things | 25 Comments
In my dream life, I spend my mornings sipping cappuccinos in a café while reading The New Yorker and watching the world go by. In my real life though, The New Yorkers pile up on the kitchen table, and a cappuccino is a rare treat usually consumed on the go. Laurie of Quirky Cupcake had her husband, Jaos, pick Cupcake Hero’s theme this month. He chose coffee, so I thought I’d celebrate my favorite morning drink in cupcake form.
Now, I heard that Jaos likes his cupcakes kept simple, and since it is his birthday (happy 29th!), I kept that in mind. This is a simple little cupcake (no filling this time), but it has great flavor, thanks to a double shot of espresso in the batter. A little bit Kahlúa soaking syrup boosts the flavor and keeps them really moist. The “foam” on top is just whipped cream, sweetened and flavored with an extra splash of Kahlúa. And finally, because I like cinnamon and coffee, I sprinkled a bit on top. I made a small batch of just six cupcakes, but the recipe could easily be doubled for a whole tin.
Cappuccino Cupcakes– makes 6 regular-size cupcakes
-Start with a batch of Kahlúa syrup (recipe below).
-Bake the espresso cupcakes (recipe below). Lightly brush warm cupcakes with Kahlúa syrup, then cool completely.
-Whip some cream, sweetening to taste and adding a splash of Kahlúa (or other coffee liqueur) to flavor. Note that, because whipped cream doesn’t keep well, it’s best to just top the cupcakes you will be eating that day. If you have extras, make new whipped cream to top them as needed.
-Top with whipped cream and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Kahlúa Syrup– makes more than you will need, but keeps for a long time and has many uses (like sweetening iced coffee)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
splash of Kahlúa, or other coffee liqueur
-Combine sugar and water in a small saucepot. Mix gently with your finger so sugar isn’t stuck to bottom or corners of pot. Try not to get a lot of sugar on the sides of the pot above water level (cooking time is short, so it shouldn’t crystallize, but just to be safe…)
-Bring just to a full boil, at which point all the sugar should be dissolved. Shut off heat and add in a splash of coffee liqueur to taste.
-Transfer to a jar or airtight plastic container for storage. This will keep in the refrigerator for weeks.
Espresso Cupcakes– makes 6 regular-sized cupcakes
1/2 c plus 3 T all-purpose flour
1/4 t plus 1/8 t baking powder
pinch of salt
3 T brewed espresso, cooled to room temperature
1 T milk
1/2 t instant espresso powder
2 oz butter, room temperature
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
-Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and line a muffin tin with six paper cups.
-Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
-Combine the espresso and milk. Dissolve the instant espresso powder in the mixture and set aside.
-Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth, fluffy and pale. Add the egg, beating well.
-Add the dry ingredients and espresso mixture in three parts, alternating and beating smooth after each addition. Add the liquid additions a little at a time to avoid splitting the batter.
-Divide the batter among the paper cups, and cook for about 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the tins for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
25 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a Reply
Baked Fresh Weekly
Blog at WordPress.com.
Entries and comments feeds.
a whisk and a spoon 
They look killer Steph! Oh so good. Love the whipped cream on top. Thanks so much!
Comment by slush— January 21, 2008 #
I don’t like coffee but your cupcake makes me think I should! haha. Looks like we all have come competition this month with your entry. Great job! 🙂
Comment by CB— January 21, 2008 #
These look wonderful, and the Kahlua is making me drool 🙂
Comment by Michelle— January 21, 2008 #
Thanks ladies!
Comment by steph— January 21, 2008 #
Oh boy. They look absolutely wickedly delicious. Think I might just have to make me some of those!
Comment by aforkfulofspaghetti— January 22, 2008 #
Perfect coffee inspired cupcake! I love that it only makes 6 perfect 🙂
Comment by Gigi— January 22, 2008 #
I’m not much of a coffee drinker but I love the flavour in baked goods and sweets. These look great!
Comment by brilynn— January 23, 2008 #
those look so wonderful! . . .want some. . .
Comment by kate— January 23, 2008 #
They look awesome! Simple and yet full of flavors. I like my coffee without frills so this is going right in the recipe box.
Comment by Tartelette— January 24, 2008 #
saw this over at slush’s blog….. came right over to get the recipe.
I am a muffin marvel…cupcakes are not my love…but….. okay, well, the flavour of these sounds SO like a gourmet cake but perhaps with more of the ease of a muffin if you know what I am talking about….. gonna give them a try…tx for the recipe…
Comment by Veronica— January 24, 2008 #
Wow! These cupcakes look perfect. I love the coffee take on regular cupcakes and the Kalhua topping seems great. These would disappear in no time at our house…
Comment by Linn— January 25, 2008 #
beautiful cupcakes and I love the dark brown wrappers too.
Comment by Cheryl— January 26, 2008 #
your cupcakes look absolutely divine!
Comment by Babeth— January 28, 2008 #
Hey! From one Kahlua lover to another. Our brains must have been synced up. You were much more polite with your splash though. I went for a solid 1/4 cup- hah!
Your cupcakes are really gorgeous- great job~ And way to pay attention to Jaos- what a suck up! 😉
Comment by Tempered Woman— January 28, 2008 #
Tempered Woman–you gotta do what you gotta do, right? 🙂
Comment by steph— January 28, 2008 #
These look fantastic & sound totally delicious!!! 🙂
Comment by Beth G— January 28, 2008 #
Hi Steph, this is my first visit to your blog and all your posts look really yummee. Your pictures are great and every one of your recipes will end up in my menu plan sometime.
Thanks for the inspiration
Nina
Comment by Nina— January 28, 2008 #
I love Khalua on a cupcake! This sounds like a superb recipe!
Comment by How To Eat A Cupcake— January 29, 2008 #
I meant to ask too~ how did you get that perfect little marshmallow look with your frosting? It sits so perfect on top of the cupcake?!?!
Comment by temperedwoman— January 31, 2008 #
These look so good. Love the photos!!
Comment by Tracy— January 31, 2008 #
Thanks everyone!
temperedwoman– I dunno. It’s just whipped cream. I used a soup spoon to get a big pile of it…tried to keep it centered on the dome of the cupcake so the sides would be exposed (mainly for photo purposes!).
Comment by steph— February 1, 2008 #
Your cupcakes look so delicious! I love that you kept it so simple and delicious!
Comment by Mary— February 1, 2008 #
Seriously…Let’s just put the frostings in a big cup of coffee and call it a day…These look delicious!
Comment by PrissyCook— February 2, 2008 #
Hi just wandering is the measurements of the ingredients done in metric. Eg T=Tablespoon etc
Comment by karen— January 16, 2012 #
Yes, that’s right…T is tablespoon and t is teaspoon
Comment by steph (whisk/spoon)— January 16, 2012 #