Coffee Cupcakes With Coffee Caramel Food

COFFEE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3. Line 18 holes in 2 bun tins with fairy cake cases. Beat the sugar with the butter until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs, one by one, adding 1 tbsp flour at the same time. Beat in the rest of the flour along with the espresso. Spoon into the cake cases and bake for 17 mins, swapping the trays after 12 mins. Cool on a wire rack.
• To make the icing, beat the butter until pale, then gradually beat in the icing sugar, followed by the espresso and the melted chocolate. When the cakes are completely cool, swirl the icing generously on top and decorate with coffee beans, if you like.

COFFEE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 16 to 18 muffin cups with paper liners and set pans aside.
• Whisk the flour, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Place the butter in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. With mixer on medium speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Once the sugar is all added, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat for a couple of minutes, until very light.
• Beat in the eggs and the vanilla.
• Turn mixer to low and beat in half of the dry ingredients until just combined, then beat in half of the sour cream and all of the milk.
• Beat in the remaining dry ingredients, again just until incorporated, then the remaining sour cream. The batter will be thick.
• Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake 18 to 24 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
• Cool the cupcakes in the pans for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
• Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until very smooth.
• Add 4 tablespoons of milk, the espresso powder, vanilla, and salt and beat to combine.
• With mixer on low, gradually beat in 4 cups of the powdered sugar.
• Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then turn mixer to medium and beat until smooth. Add additional powdered sugar if frosting is too thin and additional milk if frosting is too thick.
• Pipe or spread frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and decorate with espresso beans (if desired). Serve.
• Uneaten cupcakes can be stored at room temperature, covered, for two or three days or in the fridge, covered, for 3 or 4 days. (I think the cupcakes taste best at room temp though.)
• You can also store them in the freezer, tightly wrapped, for up to 2 months.

SALTED CARAMEL MOCHA CUPCAKE

Steps:

• For the cake batter: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin pan or cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
• Mix the coffee extract into the brewed coffee. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
• In a bowl of a stand mixer, sift together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix to combine. Add the butter, vanilla and eggs and beat on medium speed until combined. Add half of the coffee and beat for 20 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the remaining coffee. Beat for another 20 seconds until the batter is smooth.
• Divide the batter among the cupcake liners, filling them three-quarter full. Bake until a tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool.
• For the ganache: In a medium saucepan, bring the cream, corn syrup and granulated sugar to a boil over medium-low heat, whisking until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate, whisking until the chocolate is melted. Add the coffee extract and whisk until smooth. Add the butter and whisk until smooth. Transfer the ganache to a bowl to cool.
• For the salted caramel coffee frosting: If using the espresso powder, mix the espresso powder and the vanilla together in a small bowl until dissolved and set aside.
• Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the butter on medium-high speed until creamy. Add the caramel and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low, add half of the confectioners' sugar and mix until incorporated. Add the rest of the confectioners' sugar and mix until combined. Add the coffee extract and vanilla (or the espresso powder and vanilla mixture) and continue to mix at medium-high speed until completely incorporated, scraping the sides as necessary. Whip the frosting until fluffy. If necessary, use 1 to 2 tablespoons milk to loosen the frosting.
• To assemble: Cut a small and shallow hole in each cupcake and fill with the ganache. Frost the cupcakes with the salted caramel coffee frosting and sprinkle with a few granules of fleur de sel.

SALTED CARAMEL CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a 12-hole cake tin with paper cases.
• Beat the butter and sugar together with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract. Briefly mix in the flour until just combined, and stir in the milk until the batter just falls off the beaters.
• Divide the mixture between the cases, leaving about 2 tbsp batter in the bowl. Add a pinch of salt to the caramel sauce if it's not salted caramel, then add ½ tsp to the tops of each cupcake. Use a teaspoon to cover the caramel sauce with the remaining batter. Bake for 15-20 mins until springy and golden. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, make the icing. Beat the butter and half of the icing sugar together, then tip in the remaining icing sugar and whisk vigorously until pale and fluffy. Stir in half of the caramel sauce, then spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a round or star nozzle.
• Pipe swirls of icing on top of the cooled cupcakes. Stir the remaining caramel sauce with a pinch of salt, if unsalted, then use to drizzle over the icing. Sprinkle over a small pinch of sea salt over each, if you like.