Cappuccino Cupcakes

I love tea. As you can imagine, I can’t live without it. My teeth get stained badly because of my terrible addiction so I have to be pretty careful to keep my dental appointment or people might mistake me for a chain smoker. Yep, I’m serious… Well, almost.

It’s complicated.

I also hate coffee – as a drink. I like the smell of freshly ground coffee but I get lethargic if I drink it. And sometimes, that can lead to sleeping in the middle of the morning, afternoon – when I shouldn’t be sleeping. Naturally, I don’t miss coffee.

However, like Hilary Clinton (apparently), I love coffee flavoured desserts. And coffee makes chocolate taste better! Isn’t that marvellous? Perhaps that’s why I like coffee in desserts. But wait, there’s Nigel Slater’s coffee walnut cake which is one crazy delicious cake with no chocolate in sight. I have to concede coffee is good for some things in life.

These cappuccino cupcakes are strong in the coffee department. Seriously moreish, they’re originally for 14 mini-cupcakes, but I decided to make them standard sized and got 7, a decision I regretted after my first bite. I need more of these dusky beauties and the only way is to double the bloody recipe! Which is from a book I’ve lost track of. I didn’t take down the author’s name and title, so whoever came up with the recipe shall have my thanks. *cough* I’m serious…

I couldn’t take step-by-step photos as I used the stand mixer. It would be stuff inside the bowl and that’s boring. Anyway, anyway! Remember, if you decide to trust me, double this recipe and eat 14 standard sized muffins instead of yearning for more.

Recipe:

• 115g light brown sugar
• 115g softened butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 115g self-raising flour
• 4 tsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 4 tsp of just boiled water

• 50g dark chocolate (or white chocolate)
• 50g softened butter
• 115g icing sugar, sifted
• cocoa powder, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and then prepare the muffin cases or the muffin tray. Immediately cream together the 115g of butter with the brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and if the batter curdles, add a tablespoon of flour to fix it.

Next, fold in the flour and coffee. Divide the batter among the muffin cases and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until risen and set. Cool on a wire rack.

Finally, make the frosting. Melt the chocolate and let it cool. Beat the butter and icing sugar until smooth. Dump in the melted chocolate and whisk it in until incorporated. The frosting will be slightly thick and grainy so you can’t pipe it properly. You should depend on your spatula and hot water instead.

Split the cooled cupcakes in half and spread the icing, dipping the spatula in hot water occasionally to make life easier for yourself and the cupcakes. Join the cupcake halves together and dust with cocoa powder. Eat as many of them as you like and be content.

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