Think of the most delicious mocha drink as a cupcake – this is it! These soft and fluffy chocolate cupcakes are made with hot espresso and chocolate chips. They’re then topped with a dreamy espresso American buttercream. They only take 18 minutes to prep and you don’t need a mixer to make the cupcakes!
Tell me about this recipe!
- The chocolate coffee cupcakes are really simple to make as you don’t need a mixer. By adding hot coffee to the cocoa powder, the batter becomes very dark and rich.
- The cupcakes have mini chocolate chips throughout it, giving you an extra chocolatey taste.
- The buttercream is an American buttercream which is smooth and creamy. It has just a bit of espresso added to it to give you a delicious coffee taste!
Ingredients Needed
Frosting Ingredients 
Cupcake Ingredients
The printable recipe card with the full list of ingredients and instructions can be found at the bottom of this post.
Ingredient Notes
- Cocoa Powder: this recipe uses Dutch processed cocoa powder. If you only have natural cocoa powder, then don’t add the vinegar to your cupcakes. Not sure what kind you have? Check the ingredients! If it mentions alkali or acidity regulators, then you have Dutch processed cocoa powder.
- Chocolate Chips: this recipe has mini chocolate chips in the batter, giving you an extra dose of chocolate with every bite! You can make the cupcakes without the chips though.
- Oil: Use any kind of neutral oil such as canola oil, vegetable oil or rapeseed oil.
How to make this recipe
One 
Two
One: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, chocolate chips and salt.
Two: Add two tablespoons of hot water to your espresso powder and mix until smooth.
Three 
Four
Three: In a large jug whisk together the eggs, espresso, oil, sour cream, vanilla, vinegar, sugar and light brown sugar. Whisk until smooth
Four: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of the dry ingredients. Stir until smooth but be careful to not overmix
Five 
Six
Five: Place 12 cupcake liners in a muffin tray (this recipe makes 14 cupcakes) and fill each one ¾ of the way. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.
Six: In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together until smooth.
Seven 
Eight
Seven: Increase the speed to medium-high until it becomes very fluffy and thick.
Eight: Add your vanilla extract, salt and espresso and beat on medium-high speed.
Nine 
Ten
Nine: Turn the speed to low and add in your cream.
Ten: Use a Wilton 1M piping tip to frost each cupcake, decorate with sprinkles!
Recipe Tips
- I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. It makes a huge difference to your baking and is the most accurate way to bake!
- I make sure that all of my ingredients are at room temperature before I start the recipe, so pull out all of the ingredients about 2 hours before you start baking.
- Only fill up your cupcake liners to ¾ of the way, if you fill it up any further they will overflow in the oven!
Frequently Asked Questions
Once you’ve filled the 12 liners, keep the rest of the batter at room temperature while the first 12 are baking. Once you’ve taken them out of the oven, let them cool for 5-10 minutes. Take them out to cool on a cooling rack, then bake the remaining 2 cupcakes.
You can make the cupcakes the day before. You can make the buttercream a day before, but make sure to place clingfilm on the surface so it doesn’t develop a crust.
Store the cupcakes in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before eating.
Other Chocolate Recipes to try
Make sure to tag me on Instagram @alpineella and leave a review below if you’ve made these cupcakes! If you want more baking ideas, you can follow me on Pinterest
Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin tray
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 95 grams all purpose flour
- 43 grams cocoa powder dutch processed
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 100 grams sugar
- 100 grams light brown sugar
- 50 ml vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 113 grams sour cream room temperature
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 2 tablespoon hot water
- 2 teaspoon white vinegar
- 85 grams chocolate chips
Frosting
- 226 grams unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 339 grams confectioners' sugar
- 60 ml heavy cream
- 2 teaspoon espresso powder
- 2 teaspoon hot water
Instructions
Make cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C and place 12 cupcake liners in your muffin tray. This recipe makes about 14 cupcakes, so you will need to make these in two batches.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, chocolate chips and salt. Set aside.
- In a mug or cup, mix together the espresso powder and 2 tablespoon hot water.
- In a large jug, whisk the eggs, espresso, oil, sour cream, vanilla, vinegar and two sugars until smooth
- Pour the wet mixture into the flour, stirring until it is just about smooth – we don't want to over mix the batter!
- Fill the cupcake liners ¾ of the way and bake for 18-20 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool for 15 minutes in the tray, then take them out and place on a cooling rack. Bake the last two cupcakes.
Make Frosting
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar together on low speed until well combined.
- Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for a 2 minutes until it becomes very thick.
- Stop the mixer and add the salt, vanilla, and espresso (mixed with the hot water!) into the bowl. Beat on medium-high speed for another 2 minutes.
- Turn the mixer to your lowest speed and pour in the heavy cream. Beat until it becomes very creamy and spreadable.
- I used a Wilton 1M piping tip to frost my cupcakes.
Tea and Biscuits
Fantastic! I used my friend’s gourmet roasted beans and made my own powder but opted for dark chocolate chips instead. My fiancé loves these!!! The frosting is delicious too!!
Ella
Thank you for your review, that is so cool that you made your own powder!!
Kara
By espresso powder, do you mean just the instant powder at the grocery store or is there a specific one for baking?
Ella
You can use the instant powder at the grocery store! Just make sure it is a powder and not granules.
Daniela Villa
Amazing!!! Thanks for sharing!! Love the flavour and the tiny holes in the muffins 🙂