My cappuccino cupcake creation will give you a triple dose of caffeine to help you celebrate UK Coffee week, a nationwide celebration of coffee to raise funds for coffee growing communities. Hidden inside these espresso flavoured cupcakes is a white chocolate and coffee ganache surprise that keeps these treats moist and decadent. Topped with a rich espresso buttercream and dusted with cocoa, these cupcakes will give you the caffeine hit you are looking for this UK Coffee Week. You will need a standard cupcake tray (35 x 27cm, depth 3cm), wire rack, electric whisk, piping bag and melon baller for this recipe.
Skill: Easy
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Decoration time: 30 minutes
Makes 15 cupcakes
Ingredients
Cappuccino Cupcakes:
250g/9 oz. self-raising flour
250g/9 oz. caster sugar
125g/4.5 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
4 medium eggs, room temperature
120ml/4 fl. oz. milk
100ml/3.5 fl. oz boiling water mixed with 2 teaspoons of instant coffee powder, cooled
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Butter to grease the cupcake tray
Espresso Buttercream:
350g/12 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
Pinch of salt
600g/21 oz. icing sugar
45ml/2 fl. oz. of boiling water mixed with 1 tablespoon of instant coffee powder, cooled
White Chocolate & Coffee Ganache Filling:
100g/4 oz. white chocolate
100ml/3.5 fl. oz double cream
1 heaped teaspoon of instant coffee powder
Garnish:
Cocoa powder to dust
Cupcake Prep:
1.Heat oven to 180C/ 160C fan and prepare the middle shelf for baking. Grease the cupcake tray lightly with butter.
2.Dissolve the instant coffee powder into the boiling water for the cupcakes and allow to cool slightly.
3.Place the milk into a saucepan and heat gently until steam rises from the pan. This is called scalding the milk. Once steaming, take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
4.Place the butter for the cupcakes and caster sugar into a bowl and mix with an electric whisk until pale and creamy.
5.Beat the eggs with a fork in a separate bowl and add gradually to the butter and sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating the mixture with the electric whisk in-between egg additions.
6.Add the vanilla essence, cooled coffee, and the scalded milk and stir with a wooden spoon.
7.Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into the cupcake mixture and fold quickly with a large metal spoon or spatula until combined.
8.Fill each cupcake mould 2/3 full and bake on the middle shelf for 15 minutes. Turn the tray around and bake for a further 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before removing them from their moulds. Cool on a wire rack.
White Chocolate & Coffee Ganache Prep:
9.While the cupcakes are cooling, make the white chocolate and coffee ganache. Place a small saucepan on a gentle heat on the hob. Chop the white chocolate into small pieces and place it into a heatproof bowl, on top of the saucepan. It is vitally important that no water gets into the bowl or the chocolate will seize. Stir the chocolate occasionally, it will not take long to melt, and then remove from the heat to cool a little.
10.Place the heaped teaspoon of instant coffee into another saucepan with the double cream. Scald the mixture and whisk until the coffee is fully dissolved. Once steam rises from the mixture, pour this over the melted chocolate and mix together until combined. Set aside to cool slightly but do not refrigerate.
Espresso Buttercream Prep:
11.Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and add the salt and butter. Beat together with an electric whisk.
12.Gradually add the water and coffee mixture until the perfect flavour and consistency is reached. You may not need to add all the liquid. Place into a piping bag with a 1cm wide nozzle.
Assembly
13.Once the cupcakes are cool it is time to fill them with the white chocolate and coffee ganache. Using a melon baller, scoop out the centre of the cupcakes, to create a deep well in the centre.
14.Place the cooled ganache into a piping bag with a 0.5cm nozzle and pipe the ganache into the centre. Don't worry if it looks runny, the ganache will set inside the cupcake as it continues to cool.
15.Starting from the outside in, pipe the buttercream icing in a clockwise direction on the outside of the cupcake. Without stopping, continue to pipe smaller and smaller swirls in the same direction until you reach the middle. Gently pull the nozzle away from the cupcake and you should achieve a lovely swirled effect.
16.To finish, dust some cocoa powder on top of the cupcakes, using a sieve.