Kahlua Chocolate Cupcakes

Alternatively, how many different ways can I add coffee to a cupcake without it becoming a coffee cupcake.

Mmmm…chocolate

I’ve adapted the cake recipe from Tastes Better From Scratch: German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 c white sugar
• 1.75 c all-purpose or cake flour
• 0.75 c cocoa powder
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp vinegar, fill to 1 cup with milk
• 0.5 c canola oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp instant espresso powder
• 3 tbsp Kahlua*
• 1 scant c boiling water

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 c heavy cream
• 1.5 tsp Espresso Sugar plus more for sprinkling
• 1.5 tbsp white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla or to taste
• Splash of Kahula, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Because this cake uses oil for the fat, you won’t need to beat the batter, so treat it like a cake mix cake. Gentle stirring is your friend. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, vinegar/milk (or 1 c buttermilk if on hand), vanilla, and espresso powder.

Begin boiling water.

Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Once water has boiled, add to mixture, which will be quite runny once stirred. Pour into muffin pan (with liners!) and bake for approximately 16 minutes.

To lighten things up a bit, instead of a traditional frosting, once the cupcakes are cool, I whip cream and pipe it. Add cold heavy cream to a bowl and whip to soft peaks. Add sugars and whip to medium to stiff peaks. Finally, add vanilla and Kahlua and bring the mixture to stiff peaks.

Add whipped cream to a piping bag with a large star tip and swirl on top of the cooled cupcakes. Take a pinch of the espresso sugar and sprinkle on top, then serve.

The whipped cream makes these fussy for storage, so I generally only frost the cupcakes I and my family will eat immediately, and then I’ll store the whipped cream separately. The naked cupcakes can live in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3-4 days. Whipped cream can be refrigerated in a sealed container for a day or two.

*According to these guys, Kahlua is molecularly identical to a half-price counterpart, Kamora. That in mind, I stan Kamora. It’s cheaper, and I’m saving my money to buy more jalapeño olive oil.

There you have it! Check out that Kahlua article; it’s a good read, especially if you’re a scientist of any stripe.

~Jenn