Cup 'O Joe Cupcake
Tonight I decided to test a recipe I developed modifying my husband's favorite chocolate cake and buttercream recipes. My goal was to create a mocha cake and a coffee cream icing. I knew this was something my husband would love! This was a really fun project for him and I to work on together. He picked out the iced coffee, brewed coffee, and coffee creamer. He was practically about to eat the batter out of the bowl before I could cook it!
The cake recipe is based on the Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake recipe, but with a few changes to add some coffee flavor. Basically, I replaced half of the milk with iced coffee and 1/4 of the boiling water with brewed coffee. It was just an experiment, and I could probably add a bit more coffee. I do think the coffee added a richness to the chocolate cake, though, even if it was just a hint of flavor.
Mocha Cupcake ingredients:
- 2 cup sugar
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup iced coffee
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1/4 cup brewed coffee
Cupcake Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Combine all dry ingredients
- Add eggs, milk, iced coffee, vegetable oil, and vanilla into batter.
- Beat batter at medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Stir in boiling water and brewed coffee. Batter will be thin.
- Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Fill liners 3/4 full with batter.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes.
- Let cool before icing
While the cupcakes were baking, I started on the icing. I decided that I wanted to make an icing that has both coffee flavor, along with a creamer flavor.
Coffee Cream icing ingredients:
- 1 cup Crisco
- 1 cup butter
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 8 tsp coffee creamer (we used Coldstone Sweet Cream creamer)
- 8 tsp hot brewed coffee
- 2 lbs powdered sugar
- 5 tsp hot brewed coffee (optional)
Icing Directions
- Put butter (softened) and Crisco in large bowl
- Add vanilla, 8 tsp coffee creamer, and 8 tsp coffee in bowl
- Cream until completely combined
- Beat in powdered sugar, adding around 1 cup at a time.
- For a slightly thinner consistency, and stronger coffee taste, add the additional 5 tsp brewed coffee. This makes the icing a medium consistency, which is good for piping.
I iced the cupcakes by piping the icing onto them using the Wilton 1M tip. I finished up the cupcakes by topping them off with a fondant/gum paste coffee cup. I used a 1/2 fondant 1/2 gum paste mixture. I just started the Wilton Fondant/Gum Paste class and have already learned so much!
To create the coffee mugs, I used the steps below:
- Combined 1/2 mixture gum paste, 1/2 mixture fondant
- Knead the mixture to get it well combined.
- Put 1/4 cup of water into a container and drop in a few small balls of gum paste - this is to create a gum paste glue.
- Line 1 tsp measuring spoon with a small amount of cornstarch
- Stick a portion of the fondant/gum paste mixture into the 1 tsp measuring spoon.
- Use a flat spatula to cut off any excess fondant/gum paste above the spoon.
- Use the 1/4 tsp measuring spoon and press it down into the mixture while still in the 1 tsp spoon.
- Remove from the measuring spoons.
- Roll a small amount of fondant/gum paste mixture to create the handle.
- Using a toothpick, apply a small amount of gum paste glue to both ends of handle and attach to cup.
- Place on piped icing - this is for decoration purpose only. While the fondant and gum paste are edible, the gum paste gets extremely hard as it sits. It's best to just use for decoration.
Hope you enjoy these yummy cupcakes packed with coffee flavor! If you'd like to see more recipes and cupcake ideas, check out my new site on Facebook for my blog! I will post all my blogs, plus ideas from other sites. I'd also love to hear and see your cupcake ideas!
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