Chocolate coffee cupcakes

So I've got my new stand mixer!!  It's a Kitchenaid, top of the line, all thanks to mom wanting her hand mixer back. I've been borrowing hers ever since the Death of my hand mixer. I was so excited when I came back from getting my daughter at school and we see this big box on the front step.

I get it unpacked (which is no easy feat by yourself) that sucker is heavy! I look at the paddle, the whisk attachment and the dough hook. I read the instruction book (this isn't something you just turn on and go.)



And I think I'm ready,
To make something.
So what to make first?

I love making bread so I start with a loaf of french bread.
Should be simple.
Not!
This mixer does the kneading, duh.
Very hard thick bread.
But the family ate it anyway.
Sometimes I think they'll eat anything.
Read the instructions again.

Day two.
French bread again. The recipe in Kitchenaid's book.
Wonderful, light, flavorful, I didn't have to knead at all.

Now time to make something I really want.
And that will challenge this mixer!

Cream filled Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes 
        with Coffee Frosting


The cupcake recipe is from the cookbook
              Hershey's 100th Anniversary

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 cup strong black coffee or
        2 teaspoons powdered instant coffee plus 1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Here's what I used for buttermilk and the coffee. Love these little coffee packets for baking!

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Or put cupcake liners in a muffin pan. In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil, vanilla,; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Batter will be thin, really thin! Pour batter evenly into prepared pans. I filled my cupcakes 3/4 full. Bake 30-35 minutes, for cupcakes about 20 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost as desired.


Cream filling

3 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk 

1/2 cup butter 

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour and milk and cook in a small saucepan over medium heat until thick. This will only take a few minutes. Sir continuously to prevent the mixture from clumping and do not bring all the way to a boil. When thickened (consistency will be that of a thin pudding), strain with a mesh strainer into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely to room temperature.

When the milk mixture is cool, cream the butter  and sugar together in a medium bowl until lightl. Add in the milk/flour mixture and vanilla extract and beat at high speed with an electrick mixer for 7 minutes, until light and fluffy. This makes a ton, next time I will halve the recipe.

Now to fill the cupcakes. If you have a pastry bag and tip, you know what to do, fill those babies up. If you don't have that, never fear, filling is still easy.

Cut a cone out of the top of your cupcake

Trim the point of the cone that you removed off

Fill your cupcake with filling

replace the top

gently pat it into place

Coffee Frosting

I was all set to use a frosting from Paula Dean but when I went to make her Coffee frosting, it was terrible and wouldn't thicken. It looked like dirty Elmer's glue. Sorry Paula.

So I just decided to experiment.

I started with a basic buttercream recipe

1 lb box of confectioner's sugar
1 cup Crisco
1 tablespoon meringue powder
7-8 teaspoons coffee (instead of the milk or water)

Cream the Crisco and liquid, coffee, until blended. Add sugar and meringue powder. once blended, turn mixer to medium speed and beat for 7 minutes until fluffy.

Taste it, boring, can't even taste the coffee flavor. Dull. Look around the kitchen and spot the little coffee packets, hmmmm.

add

2 teaspoons of instant coffee, slightly crushed.

can you see those little flecks of coffee?
They made this frosting!

Just the right little punch of coffee as you bite into the cupcake!

Warning: these are adult cupcakes.

For coffee lovers.

Unless you want your kids bouncing off the walls for hours.

Someone once said there are no new recipes, just new twists on old ones.

My Baking Addiction posted the same recipe last night but with a chocolate icing. 

So if coffee's not your thing, 

Check out Jamie's recipe. She used a classic Chocolate buttercream 

that she got from Savory Sweet Life