It's week two in my quest to incorporate coffee into as many foods as possible!
After last week's recipe, where I semi-deliberately didn't follow instructions and ended up with slightly less than perfect Espresso Meringues, I decided that I needed to take a step back and make something super easy.
The result? Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes, courtesy of a boxed cake mix. Like I said, super easy!
Ingredients- Chocolate cake mix
- 3/4 cup brewed espresso (I used Caffe Umbria's Terra Sana Blend)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
- Beat cake mix, espresso, water, oil and eggs on low speed with mixer for 30 seconds
- Kick the mixer up to medium for about 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally
- Spoon mix into cupcake wrappers, filling about 2/3 full
- Bake in oven 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
- Let cool on a wire rack before frosting
Keep in mind that the ingredients and directions will vary based on the boxed cake mix you use. To adapt the recipe to your cake mix, simply replace 50% or more of the water with brewed espresso.
This time, I used 60% espresso and, while it was definitely noticeable in the batter, it seemed to lose a lot of its taste after baking. Next time I make it, I'll use only espresso ('Look ma, no water!') and see what happens. I'm thinking deliciousness!
The cupcakes turned out yummy and, if I do say so myself, quite pretty! To top it off, they were frosted with Hazelnut Cream Cheese Frosting. I know you want the recipe, so check in on Thursday to see Brandi whip some up!