These coffee cupcakes are every coffee lover's dream. Fluffy coffee-infused sponge topped with silky smooth espresso buttercream. Perfection.
Coffee Cupcakes Recipe Snapshot
What it is: Fluffy coffee-flavored cupcakes topped with espresso buttercream frosting.
Why you'll love it: Easy recipe using espresso powder for a strong coffee flavor in both the cake and frosting.
How to make it: Beat cupcake ingredients together and bake, add espresso powder to 2 ingredient buttercream and decorate.
Chris has been begging me for months to make a coffee-flavoured bake. It's been on his mind ever since my last coffee dessert, which was my Tiramisu Cake with Amaretto. Finally, I got around to making these coffee cupcakes, which are a new and improved adaption of the coffee cupcakes we used to sell in the bakery.
They were hugely popular with all the University students who would come in between classes to refuel on caffeine and sugar. (Our first store was right next to a University campus). These were always a hit with the students, along with our Red Velvet Cupcakes and Cinnamon Swirl Muffins.
Reader Review:
I love the taste of these. Have made them for neighbourhood parties and they are a huge hit.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Leslie
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Ingredients
- Butter - Use unsalted butter and make sure it's room temperature.
- White Sugar - Granulated sugar (caster sugar in the UK).
- Light Brown Sugar - Adds a slight caramel note to the cake.
- Egg - Large eggs in the US, medium eggs in the UK.
- Espresso Powder - this is the super-finely ground powder; it's not the same as instant coffee granules. Look specifically for 'espresso powder'
- Flour - All-purpose flour (plain flour) is best.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk - in a lot of cultures, they add condensed milk to coffee, so it seems fitting to use this condensed milk frosting recipe for these cupcakes!
See recipe card for measurements in both grams and cups (though I always recommend using a kitchen scale!)
How To Make Coffee Cupcakes
Make the Espresso Cupcakes
- Cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, then add half of the mixture into the batter and mix in slowly until completely incorporated.
- Dissolve the espresso powder in the milk. Pour into the batter and mix until incorporated.
- Add the remaining flour mixture and stir until incorporated. Be careful not to overmix.
- Scoop batter into cupcake liners and bake for 18 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back when lightly pressed.
Make the Coffee Buttercream
- Whip the room temperature butter with a stand mixer or hand mixer on high for 5 minutes. It should be lighter in colour and silky smooth.
- Drizzle the condensed milk in very gradually while whipping on medium speed. Do not rush this step, or the frosting could split.
- Dissolve the espresso powder in a tablespoon of hot water and pour into the frosting along with the vanilla and salt, and whip for another minute.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, top them with the coffee buttercream. I chose to decorate with chocolate coffee beans, but you could also sprinkle them with cocoa powder or just leave them plain.
The buttercream should be thick, glossy, and smooth. If it isn't, see my guide on how to fix broken buttercream.
Variations
While these are already a winning combination, there are many ways you could enjoy these coffee cupcakes!
- Mocha Cupcakes - If you wanted to make a mocha cupcake instead, you could use my chocolate cake recipe for the batter to make chocolate cupcakes topped with the coffee Russian Buttercream.
- Switch out the Frosting - The coffee batter also works nicely with many different frostings. Try pairing them with Cream Cheese Frosting instead. Or my easy chocolate buttercream.
- Add a filling - The simplicity of these cupcakes is pretty fantastic, but if you wanted to step it up a notch, you could core out the centre of the cupcake and fill with a coffee-flavoured ganache or homemade caramel sauce.
FAQ
The first time I tested this recipe, I made them with real, fresh espresso instead of the espresso powder. They worked nicely and had a wonderful soft crumb, but the coffee flavour just wasn't coming through as powerfully as I wanted it to.
The espresso powder packs much more of a punch and the flavour comes through better after the batter has been baked. So you could use espresso, but the coffee flavour will be less obvious, and you don't want to add too many espresso shots as the liquid will mess with the consistency of the cupcake batter.
You can find espresso powder in most grocery stores. But if you're having trouble, you can also find it online. This espresso powder is one of the best ones I recommend for baking. I use it in a lot of my recipes, like my Tiramisu Brownie recipe.
More Coffee Desserts
Watch How To Make Them (Video)
If you'd like to watch a step-by-step guide to making these coffee cupcakes, check out this video:
Recipe
Coffee Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 114 g (1 stick) Unsalted Butter
- 100 g (½ cup) Granulated Sugar (caster sugar)
- 110 g (½ cup) Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 tablespoon Espresso Powder
- 190 g (1½ cups) All-purpose Flour (plain flour)
- 120 ml (½ cup) Whole Milk
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 227 g (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 396 g (14 oz) Condensed Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Espresso Powder
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 180 °C (160°C fan) and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy.114 g (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, 100 g (½ cup) Granulated Sugar, 110 g (½ cup) Light Brown Sugar
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.1 Large Egg, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl, then pour half of it into the batter and mix in slowly until completely incorporated.190 g (1½ cups) All-purpose Flour, ½ teaspoon Baking Soda, 1 teaspoon Baking Powder, 1 teaspoon Salt
- Dissolve the espresso powder in the milk. Pour into the batter and mix until incorporated.120 ml (½ cup) Whole Milk, 2 tablespoon Espresso Powder
- Add the remaining flour mixture and stir until incorporated.
- Scoop batter into cupcake liners and bake for 18 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back when lightly pressed.
- Whip the butter with a stand mixer or hand mixer on high for 5 minutes. It should be lighter in colour and silky smooth.227 g (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
- Drizzle the condensed milk in very gradually while whipping on medium speed. Do not rush this step or the frosting could split396 g (14 oz) Condensed Milk
- Dissolve the espresso powder in a tablespoon of hot water and pour into the frosting along with the vanilla and salt, whip for another minute.1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 2 teaspoon Espresso Powder, ½ teaspoon Salt
- The buttercream should be thick, glossy and smooth. If it isn't, see my guide on how to fix broken buttercream.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, top them with the coffee buttercream. I chose to decorate with chocolate coffee beans, but you could also sprinkle with cocoa powder or just leave them plain.
Ali
Hi, I have made this recipe maybe 5 times now and it’s been amazing every time. However, when I make the frosting in a double batch, it becomes soupy. Very strange. I follow the exact same process with room temperature, butter, and with gradually adding the condensed milk and even putting back in the fridge to chill before re-whipping. Any idea why it would become soupy when making a double batch? Everything I tried to stiffen the buttercream has not worked to troubleshoot.
Jules Grasekamp
Hi Ali,
So happy to hear you like the recipe!
The only thing I can think of is maybe the condensed milk being added too quickly? Because there is more of it going in, you might need to add it more gradually, so add a little then whip for a minute and repeat until it is all incorporated. Give that a try next time and I hope it helps! Let me know if it works out!
Jules
Linda
I don't have espresso powder, prefer to grind my own since I make coffee every day. Step 5 how to proceed with milk etc. ??
Jules Grasekamp
Hi Linda,
You can definitely add real espresso instead of instant espresso powder, but the coffee flavor may not be quite as strong. You can just pour espresso into the milk at the same time you would have added the powder. The reason for the espresso powder is it provides a stronger coffee flavor without adding too much liquid to the batter.
If you add more than one shot of espresso, I recommend removing the equivalent amount of milk from the recipe so your batter doesn't end up too wet.
Hope this helps!
Jules
nanny paulie
Hi, Frustratingly, I am in the UK so "1 cup" and "1 tin" dont help me!! We go on weights here. Also, your pounds and ounces are different to UK ones.... we have 20 fl oz in a pint and USA has 16fl oz in a pint....
And I cant afford to make stuff wrong then throw it away! HELP!!!
Jules Grasekamp
Hi there,
I totally understand! I actually bake everything with weights too (I'm in Scotland). All my recipes have measurements in both cups and grams. If you click the little toggle at the top of the recipe card from 'Cups' to 'Grams' it will give you all the measurements in grams. Hope this helps! 🙂
Jules
Carol Wood
Is salted or unsalted butter used in the butter cream frosting? Also, is the frosting amount enough to frost the top of a 13X9 inch cake? Thank you for your help.
Jules
Hi Carol,
For buttercream I find it's best to use unsalted butter, that way if you want to add a pinch of salt you can do it to taste and control the saltiness yourself. I do enjoy using salted butter in some recipes, but the amount of salt varies so much from brand to brand that it's often safer to just add the salt yourself and stick with unsalted! Happy baking 🙂
Brianna
ATENTION ALL: You always use UNSALTED BUTTER!!!!!
Leslie Decker
I love the taste of these. Have made them for neighborhood parties and they are a huge hit. My question is this, after making them 3 times now, they always fall in the middle even tho cooked fully. Am I doing something wrong (haven't changed the recipe at all)? Any suggestions?
Laura
Mine cupcakes did the same thing. No idea why. I also found the condensed milk frosting to be way too sweet altho I liked the flavor and silky texture.
Imee
Hi, from the Philippines here. As we're in the tropics, should I use chilled condensed milk or room temp one is okay? Thanks
Jules
Hi Imee, That's a great question! I haven't tested any of my recipes in tropical weather to know for sure, but I would think room temperature would still be best. If any of the ingredients are cold at all then the buttercream might curdle.
If you try it at room temperature and the frosting is too soft and soupy, you can put the whole frosting in the fridge (once the butter and condensed milk are properly combined) and let it chill for 15 mins or so before continuing to whip.
Hope this helps!
(P.S. I am actually in the process of writing a blog post all about Russian buttercream and how to troubleshoot it. I am definitely going to include this question in the FAQs - thank you!)
Kristy Braman
Can youbuse regular coffee grounds if so how ?
Jules
Hi Kristy, great question! I definitely wouldn't use coffee grounds, but If you don't have espresso powder you could use instant coffee instead. I'd use 3-4 tsp dissolved in a little splash of water. It won't be quite as strong as the espresso powder but the flavor should still come through 🙂
Melissa
Made these for the first time today, and I gave them to a guy friend of mine for his birthday. We share a love of good coffee. The cupcake part turned out okay, but I think my butter (I used Kerrygold brand) may have sat out a bit too long. I made a MESS trying to make a pretty swirl with the icing.
I have 2 questions.
1, I don't have a stand mixer. Was that possibly part of my problem with the icing?
2, Can you share a source for the chocolate coffee beans that are in the photo? The ones I was able to get locally don't look as cute.
P.S. I just heard from my friend, and he LOVED them!
Chris
These cupcakes are mind blowingly amazing! I love how the coffee flavour comes through while not being overpoweringly strong. 10/10 would eat again!