Inspired by the Spanish Coffee cocktail or “Carajillo”, these cupcakes are rich and decadent full of coffee flavor and hints of orange citrus.
Dark Chocolate Orange Coffee Cupcakes
A rich dark chocolate orange cupcake filled with espresso caramel, topped with coffee buttercream
Ingredients
Chocolate Orange Cupcakes:
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1¾ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3/4 cups Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa
- 1½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1½ tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 cup Milk
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Hot Coffee
- 1 orange Zest from one orange
Espresso Caramel Filling:
- ½ cup Espresso Caramel (see recipe below)
Coffee Buttercream:
- 1 cup Butter (2 sticks)
- 1 lb Confectioner's sugar (5 cups)
- ½ cup Espresso Caramel (recipe below)
- 2 tbsp Coffee Liqueur (Kahlua, Tia Maria, Mr Black)
- 1 tsp Rum
Instructions
Cupcakes:
- Heat oven to 350F degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners
- Sir together dry ingredients in large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients except boiling water. Beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).
- Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter.
- Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:
- With handheld mixer or stand mixer, beat butter until light and creamy
- Add confectioner's sugar mixing on low speed until combined.
- Add rum, espresso caramel, and coffee liqueur until incorporated on low speed. Then increase speed to medium and whip until light and fluffy.
Assembly:
- Core cupcakes with a corer or small knife. Add espresso caramel to a piping bag and fill the cavities. Pipe the buttercream on the cupcakes. Finish with a sprinkle of cocoa powder, and more caramel if desired.
Notes
Espresso Caramel
Luscious coffee caramel perfect as a topping or filling for desserts. Make it boozy with your favorite coffee liqueur.
Ingredients
- ½ cup Water
- 1¼ cup Sugar
- 1 cup Heavy cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1½ tbps Espresso powder (or instant coffee)
- 2 tsp Coffee Liqueur (optional) (Kahlua, Mr Black, Tia Maria)
Instructions
- In a small pan, on low heat, bring cream to just a boil and stir in espresso powder. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a medium or large pan, combine water and sugar over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring and continue cooking sugar until dark amber color. Add in cream (mixture will bubble) stirring constantly until smooth. Simmer caramel until it reaches 225F degrees.
- Pour caramel into a heat proof container, stir in vanilla extract, coffee liqueur (optional), and cool to room temperature. It will be pourable while warm and thick when completely cool. Refrigerate up to one month in an airtight container.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!