First of all, my apologies for posting relatively light lately. Some of my lovely readers emailed me, “Are you retired from blogging?” Oh No! I still cook, bake and of course eat! As long as I am still doing these activities, I guess the blog is still going on!

I’ve been too busy to keep up with my regular blogging schedule. That’s the reason. Travelling to Hong Kong, coming back to battle with jet lag and flu, then getting ready for this wedding season…

So I will do a quick post here about these mocha cupcakes. They are espresso infused chocolate cake topped with fluffy and sweet espresso buttercream. I don’t normally buy coffee from Starbucks. But I would totally pay that $5 for a cup of mocha. Sometimes that’s just my mid-day slump cure. I guess now I would go for one of these cupcakes instead!

Ingredients (12 regular sized cupcakes):
Chocolate Espresso Cupcake
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot strong espresso
Espresso Buttercream
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
3 tablespoons cooled espresso or very strong coffee
Garnish
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1/4 cup crushed whoppers or other chocolate candies

Directions:
To prepare cupcake, preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin tin or line with muffin liners.
In a large bowl, mix together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Crack in the egg, spoon in the sour cream, and pour in the oil and the vanilla. Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.
Pour in the hot espresso, and slowly mix until smooth and liquidy.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups, about halfway full. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely.
To prepare buttercream, beat butter for a few minutes in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add powdered sugar and turn your mixer on low, beat until the sugar incorporates with the butter. Add heavy cream and espresso, beat on medium speed for another 3 minutes, or until buttercream becomes light and fluffy.
Frost the cupcakes with the buttercream. Top with espresso powder and crushed candies.