Mocha Cupcakes

These moist Mocha Cupcakes are so decadent and delicious!

Fluffy, rich chocolate cupcakes (flavored with cocoa and espresso) are filled and swirled with a flavorful espresso cream cheese frosting in this dessert that is sure to please.

How to Make Mocha Cupcakes

You can find the full, printable Mocha Cupcake Recipe as the bottom of this post. Here is a quick look at our steps!

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with liners.
• In a separate bowl, add the all purpose flour, sifted unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to blend and set aside.
• In the bowl of your mixer, beat the softened butter on medium speed until light and creamy. Add the vegetable oil and vanilla extract.
• Gradually add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing after each egg just until the yellow of the yolk has blended. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
• Mixing on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 additions of milk) Mix just until combined.
• Add the cup of hot coffee at this time on low speed, mixing just until combined. As you can see below, the batter will be very thin after adding the hot coffee. that is as it should be.

• Scoop the batter (about ¼ cup per cupcake) into the cupcake liners and bake at 350 degrees F for about 16-18 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Baking times may vary! Start peeking it at around the 15 minutes mark and adjust time as needed.
• Makes approximately 8.5 cups of batter, enough for approximately 28-30 cupcakes.

Filling the Cupcakes

Once the cupcakes have cooled it is time to fill and frost. Today, we are using a fabulous and super easy Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting. We just love this recipe!

(We didn't add cocoa to our frosting because the cupcakes are so very chocolatey already, but if you'd like, you can add 1-2 tablespoons (sifted) to the frosting.)

Filling the cupcakes is an optional step, they will taste great with or without, but the filling will give you an added boost of espresso flavor.

• If you would like to fill your cupcakes as we did, load a disposable piping bag with the frosting and snip away the end (about ½ inch opening). Insert the bag halfway into the cupcake and squeeze for about 3 seconds to fill. Then, frost the cupcake as usual.

• If you have an extra cupcake to spare, you could do a trial run and then slice the cupcake in half to see if you are happy with the amount of filling inside.

Decorate the cupcakes however you like. We frosted ours very simply using a 1M star piping tip! We sprinkled some of our cupcakes with toffee bits for an added layer of flavor and a bit of crunch. They are delicious with or without the toffee.

We hope that you enjoy them!

Storage

Because of the espresso cream cheese frosting, these cupcakes should be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container, under a cake dome, or in a sealed bakery box.

However, for the very best flavor and texture, remove the cupcakes from the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving. This will allow time for the cupcakes and frosting to warm and soften.

More Cakes with Coffee

We've made many cake recipes with coffee over the years. Some of our favorites are Mocha Toffee Crunch Cake, Caramel Vanilla Latte Cake, Mocha Cake from Cake Mix, and Tiramisu Cake, but we have many more!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Don't miss our full collection of cake and cupcake recipes- we have so many more for you to try. If you are interested in cake decorating (and cupcake decorating), make sure to check out our collection of free cake decorating tutorials!

Mocha Cupcakes

BY Melissa and Bebe

These rich and delicious Mocha Cupcakes have the perfect balance of chocolate and espresso flavor! Decadent chocolate cupcakes are injected and swirled with espresso cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 11 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: 30 cupcakes

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Ingredients

• ▢ 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (This is the equivalent of 226g or 1 cup)
• ▢ 2 cups sugar (400g)
• ▢ 4 large eggs, room temperature (If in a hurry, you can place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes)
• ▢ ¼ cup vegetable oil (54g)
• ▢ 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour (322g)
• ▢ 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (don't skip the sifting) (82g)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking soda (10g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder (2g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt (2g)
• ▢ 1 cup milk (220g)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4g)
• ▢ 1 cup hot coffee, it can be instant or brewed (220g) (We used instant espresso)
• ▢ cupcake liners

For the Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting

• ▢ 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (226g)
• ▢ 16 oz cream cheese (full fat), softened (226g) We used two 8 oz packages (full fat).
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon espresso granules dissolved in 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract (6g)
• ▢ 6 cups powdered sugar (690)(adjust slightly up or down to your liking)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt (2g)
• ▢ Cocoa powder- optional (See Notes)

Decorating

• ▢ We sprinkled some of our cupcakes with Toffee Bits (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a separate bowl, add the flour, sifted cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to blend and set aside.
• In the bowl of your mixer, beat the softened butter on medium speed until light and creamy. Add the vegetable oil and vanilla extract.
• Gradually add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each egg just until the yellow of the yolk has blended. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
• Mixing on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 additions of milk) Mix just until combined.
• Add the cup of hot coffee at this time on low speed, mixing just until combined. The batter will be very thin. Don't worry this is how it should be.
• If making cupcakes, scoop the batter (about ¼ cup per cupcake) into the cupcake liners and bake at 350 for about 16-18 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. (Makes about 3 dozen cupcakes).
• Makes approximately 8.5 cups of batter.

For the Frosting

• Cut the softened butter into slices and add to the bowl of your mixer along with salt. Mix on low to medium speed until the butter is softened.
• Cut the cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, beating at low to medium speed until blended. If using a hand mixer, you may need to soften the cream cheese a bit more.
• Add the espresso that has been mixed with the vanilla
• Gradually add the powdered sugar beating on low to medium speed until blended. Do not over mix or it will become too soft. If it does become too soft, just refrigerate for a few minutes, then continue.
• This frosting will pipe best if used while somewhat chilled. You can make this in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use, let soften to spreading consistency (do not microwave) and stir or remix with mixer.

Filling the Cupcakes (Optional)

• If you would like to fill your cupcakes as we did, load a disposable piping bag with the frosting and snip away the end (about ½ inch opening). Insert the bag halfway into the cupcake and squeeze for about 3 seconds to fill.
• Repeat for each cupcake.

  Before filling/injecting the cupcakes, you can do a trial run if you have a cupcake to spare, and then slice it in half. This will show you how much filling you are putting in and you can adjust to your liking. You could also do a trial run on a plate (counting the seconds it takes to reach the desired amount).

Frosting the Cupcakes

• Decorate your cupcakes however you'd like! We swirled ours onto the cupcakes using a disposable piping bag fitted with a 1M (large star) tip. A 2D tip will give you a similar look. We sprinkled some of ours with toffee bits.

Storage

• Because of the cream cheese frosting, these need to be refrigerated (in an airtight container, under a cake dome, or in a sealed bakery box). However, for the very best flavor and texture, we recommend removing them from the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving. This will allow time for the cake and frosting to warm and soften.

Notes

Frosting- We went with an espresso frosting (rather than mocha) because our cupcakes are so chocolatey already and we love this frosting recipe.

However, for a bit more chocolate mocha flavor, you can add 1-2 tablespoons (sifted) cocoa powder to the frosting. You can add it in when you add the powdered sugar. Adjust amount to your liking ;0)

If making cake layers instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between three prepared 8 inch cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Check for doneness at 30 minutes by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake layer. If it comes out clean or with only a few crumbs attached, the cake is done. 

 

 

 

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