Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream

Do I really even need to tell you how AMAZING these cupcakes are?!  I have wanted to make these for a while now.   I happened to have found a good sized container of chocolate covered espresso beans at Trader's Joes, and that definitely put me on the move to make these.  You will have to forgive me though, I made these a couple weeks ago and I haven't got around to posting them until now.  Actually, I have a few good recipes stored up to post.  I just need to find the time to post them.

These cupcakes called for espresso powder.  Now I know I could have used bold instant coffee granules, but having done that before in other recipes, I knew I wanted the good stuff.  I went to Starbucks, and they pointed me in the direction of instant coffee.  So I headed on over to Caribou and they gladly ground up a 1/4 pound of espresso beans into a super fine powder.  I paid nearly $6 for just the espresso powder, but for the look, smell and taste the expensive stuff gives makes it so totally worth it!

The cupcakes are so light and fluffy, and not dense at all...I was very impressed.  The buttercream frosting did not call for any cream or milk.  Instead the recipe calls for you to whip the butter for several minutes, resulting in an incredibly light and dreamy frosting.  The added espresso gives the buttercream a very elegant speckled look.  I decided to top my off with a drizzle of chocolate ganache and a chocolate covered espresso bean. WOW!  These cupcakes would impress the best of the best!  You must try them. :)

Cupcake Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker
Yields: 16 cupcakes

1-1/3 all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature

1. Mix the espresso powder into the brewed coffee until dissolved; set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard-size muffin tin with paper liners (Recipes says it makes 12 cupcakes, but I got a total of 16).
3. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined. In a measuring cup, combine the milk, brewed coffee mixture and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture, alternating with the coffee mixture, ending with the flour mixture.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the 16 liners. Baking for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting cupcakes. 

Espresso Buttercream Frosting:

Makes just enough to frost 16 cupcakes if you do not go overboard on the frosting.  If you feel you might go overboard, you may want to make more.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons espresso powder

1. Mix the espresso powder into the vanilla until dissolved; set aside.
2. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar a little at a time, waiting until it is mostly incorporated before adding more. Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, scrape the sides of the bowl and increase the speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy, about a minute or two. Add the espresso and vanilla mixture and continue to mix at medium-high until it is completely incorporated, scraping the sides as necessary. 
*Note: To make the swirls on the cupcakes, I used a 1M decorating tip.

Chocolate Ganache:
1 1/2 cup mini or regular semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

Put chocolate chips in a small bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan (watch carefully so it does not overflow). Pour cream evenly over chocolate. Let stand for one minute to soften, then stir until smooth. If frosting is too loose to spread, let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, frosting will continue to thicken as it stands.  Pour ganache into a piping bag and snip the end to drizzle on the top of each cupcake.  Top it off with a chocolate covered espresso bean.