Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes with a hint of Peanut Butter…

boosts you up when you’re down!

After all these fruity recipes I tried, I was in the mood for creamy heavy stuff again.

I made chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting a lot of times and I love them.
I always been curious about a coffee flavor in chocolate cupcakes. So, I just used my basic chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting recipe and added espresso powder to it and made a peanut butter filling.

Et Voila…

The espresso flavor was there, but not too strong, the taste of chocolate still came through .
I caramelized some shopped almond pieces to sprinkle on the espresso butter cream, that was really a highlight.

Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (50g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
  • 1 cup (240ml) hot boiling water
  • 1 1/2 cup (180g) flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup (115g) butter or lactose free margarine
  • 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
  • 1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract or Vanilla Bean

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 Celsius) and line a muffins pan with paper forms.

Pour the hot water over the cocoa powder stir well and add the espresso powder, set aside.
Mix the flour with the salt and the baking powder and set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs and Vanilla mix until combined. Add the flour and beat on medium speed by adding the cocoa. Mix until you can’t see white spots in the batter.

If this batter seems to you very liquid, don’t worry , that’s the way it should be.

Fill the forms about 3/4 full with the batter and set them in the oven for about 12 minutes.

Now here comes the hint of peanut butter, if you want to, just get a teaspoon and your favorite peanut butter (it should be a “stiff” one, too liquid and oily wouldn’t work with that method) and put a “hazelnut sized” piece of the peanut butter in the center of the batter, before you bake them.

Never forget to test if they’re done by sticking a toothpick in the cupcake. The pick has to come out clean.

Espresso Butter Cream Frosting

  • 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
  • 1/2 cup (115g) lactose free margarine or unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 to 4 cups (300-400g) confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, or vanilla bean

Pour 2 tablespoons hot water over 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder and let cool.

With an electric mixer cream the butter and add the confectioner’s sugar, add the espresso and Vanilla and beat until light and fluffy for about 2 minutes. Use a piping bag with a big tip to decorate.

Chocolate always helps, doesn’t it?

11 thoughts on “Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes with a hint of Peanut Butter…

  1. Ich war schon ganz ungeduldig Deine espresso cupcakes auf den Foto’s zu sehen. Sie sehen genauso fantastisch aus, wie sie schmecken. !! Maama

  2. I find a bit of added coffee really brings out the chocolate flavour in baked goods. The added peanut butter sounds pretty amazing.

  3. Hi! i just wanted to say your cupcakes look delish and beautiful, might i add that the frosting looks so light and fluffy… any tips on how to make it have that consistency? Im 15 and i absolutely looovee to bake! any other tips you might give me?

  4. Hey Ceci! When I make Butter Cream Frosting I always start with beating the butter on high speed till it’s really creamy, then I add the confectioner’s sugar till the mixture looks very dry. And then you add the liquid, like milk, tablespoon-wise (be careful not to use too much) and then I beat the frosting again on high speed till it looks so fluffy.

    Another tip for baking in general, if you really love it, you’ll create beautiful and tasty things, you just need to practice and be patient with yourself. 🙂

  5. Hey my mom is allergic to peanut butter, but I still want to make her these cupcakes. Would they still be good without the peanut butter?

  6. I just came upon your recipe while searching for espresso cupcakes; I made a batch from a book that came out horribly, but was utterly fixated on the flavor profile. Yours came out beautifully. Thank you so much.

  7. Since this is a dairy-free blog… Can I subsitute the lactose-free ingredients with normal? The recipe looks so yummy, and I really want to try it, but I don’t have lactose-free anything. 🙂

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