Rich coffee cupcakes with an easy coffee buttercream, ideal for bake sales or simply treating yourself any day of the week. Coffee lovers will adore them!
This recipe for easy coffee cupcakes was passed down through the generations, such a lovely tradition.
When you read a recipe nowadays and it has measurements in ounces rather than grammes, I think you can always tell it must be a winner.
It has clearly been kept noted down and passed on over the years through the family.
This recipe is originally from Coriander Queen, and I am sharing it in tribute to Izzie.
As you can see, the cupcakes turn out really well, with a lovely colour from the coffee.
I am very partial to a cup of coffee in the morning, but for some reason have never used coffee in a recipe before as the main flavour.
This easy coffee cupcake recipe is the perfect place to start.
The cakes have just the right amount of coffee to add depth of flavour without being too bitter, which can be a problem with coffee cakes.
Coffee buttercream icing really sets these cupcakes off well, again it has just the right amount of coffee to add rich colour and flavour without being overpowering.
The coffee buttercream is easy to make using butter, icing sugar and a little instant coffee.
Remember to always beat the butter and icing sugar together until pale and fluffy when making buttercream icing for the best results.
It is easiest to use a stand mixer or handheld mixer to do this, unless you are feeling particularly strong with a wooden spoon!
We enjoyed the cupcakes so much that I am now asked for them over and over.
They’re now a go-to recipe when I have to produce cakes for a bake sale at school or work.
Ingredients
Here is what you will need to make these coffee cupcakes – grab the quantities from the recipe card further down the post.
- butter
- caster sugar
- eggs
- self-raising flour
- baking powder
- salt
- instant coffee – just the normal powdered coffee used to make a cup of coffee at home.
- milk
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180°C and put paper cases in a muffin tin.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (I used a hand mixer).
- Add the eggs one by one, mixing after each addition, and then fold in the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add the coffee and milk and mix gently.
- Spoon the mixture into the cases, ensuring they are no more than two thirds full.
- Bake for 14 to 18 minutes until golden.
- Put the cakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool.
- Make the icing by creaming together the softened butter and icing sugar until soft and fluffy and it has turned pale. Add the coffee and mix through well.
- Put the icing in a piping bag and pipe a swirl on top of each cake. If you have them, decorate with a chocolate coated coffee bean.
Related
More recipes from Coriander Queen:
- Chocolate orange oat bars on Veggie Desserts
- Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies on Tin and Thyme
- Ginger and oat cookies on Kavey Eats
- Treacle tart on Patisserie Makes Perfect
- Eggless chocolate chip cookies on Simply Sensational Food
- Fruit flapjacks on The Petite Cook
- Elderflower and vodka cocktail slush on The Hedgecombers
Recipe
Rich Coffee Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 113 g (½ cups) unsalted butter (4 oz)
- 142 g (¾ cups) caster sugar (superfine sugar) (5 oz)
- 2 medium eggs
- 170 g (1⅓ cups) self-raising flour (6 oz)
- 0.5 tsp (½ tsp) baking powder
- 0.5 tsp (½ tsp) salt
- 1 tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water
- 2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk
Icing:
- 113 g (½ cups) unsalted butter softened (4 oz)
- 170 g (1½ cups) icing sugar (6 oz)
- 1 tbsp instant coffee heaped, dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180℃ / 350℉ and put paper cases in a muffin tin.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (I used a hand mixer).113 g unsalted butter, 142 g caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- Add the eggs one by one, mixing after each addition, and then fold in the flour, baking powder and salt.2 medium eggs, 170 g self-raising flour, 0.5 tsp baking powder, 0.5 tsp salt
- Add the coffee and milk and mix gently.1 tbsp instant coffee, 2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk
- Spoon the mixture into the cases, ensuring they are no more than two thirds full.
- Bake for 14 to 18 minutes until golden.
- Put the cakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool.
- Make the icing by creaming together the softened butter and icing sugar until soft and fluffy and it has turned pale. Add the coffee and mix through well.113 g unsalted butter, 170 g icing sugar, 1 tbsp instant coffee
- Put the icing in a piping bag and pipe a swirl on top of each cake. If you have them, decorate with a chocolate coated coffee bean.
Coriander Queen
I am lucky enough to have a large circle of food blogging friends who chat online regularly and are always helping and supporting each other with tips and their experience from over the years.
Recently I heard that a member of our community had passed away at just 29 years old. Isabella King was the writer of Coriander Queen, a lovely blog full of delicious recipes with gorgeous photography.
While I had never met Izzie, I had chatted with her on social media and always found her so warm, friendly and open, as well as incredibly brave. As a community we decided to get together and do something in her memory, and each cook and share a recipe from her blog today at 11am.
When I chose a recipe to make I was struck by all the delicious baking recipes on Izzie’s blog, and I was particularly drawn to her rich coffee cupcakes you’ve seen here. I was always partial to a slice of the coffee cake that my mum used to make when I was a child.
Rest in peace, Isabella Coriander Queen, thank you for sharing your huge love of food with us.
andrea @ the petite cook says
Coffee cupcakes are definitely my kind of sweet treat, and these sound delish! A really lovely tribute to Izzie xx
Emilia says
Want to make them but wondering how easy they are? Easy, Medium or Hard? They look absolutely delicious
bakingqueen74 says
I’d say easy!
Karen Kennedy says
All was going well, until I did the icing….and it just turned to liquid, more like a drizzle than a buttercream. Should the ingredients not be 1 heaped tbsp to 2 tsp of hot water, instead of 2 tbsp of hot water? Total waste of butter and icing sugar as I had to bin it as it wouldn’t have stayed on top of the cakes, so have had to put the cakes in a cake tin until I can get more butter tomorrow!!
bakingqueen74 says
Sorry to hear you had a problem with the icing. It is best to add the coffee bit by bit rather than all at once, as it really depends on how soft your icing is. You might not need to add it all. If your icing went runny then I suspect you could have used less of it. The quantities given are correct and work fine for me every time.
Choclette says
Heartbreaking and uplifting, both at the same time. Baking with something you’ve never made before is a lovely tribute to Isabella. The cakes sound delicious.
Ceri says
I love the sound of these, coffee is one of my favourite smells and flavours. A lovely way to remember Izzie
Anthony @ Livetvsoccer365 says
Thanks Lucy for sharing! I love rich coffee cupcakes so much. I can’t wait to try it
Camilla says
Loving these cupcakes, so lovely that this recipe was passed down Izzie’s family – a lovely tribute Lucy:-)
Emma @ Supper in the Suburbs says
So many of my recipes have been passed down from my Mum and my Grandmothers! I wish I’d left them all in ounces now for nostalgia’s sake! Great recipe from a lovely lady! Izzie will be missed xx
Jo @ Jo\'s Kitchen Larder says
So, so sad! Such lovely recipe though and beautiful tribute!
Jemma @ Celery & Cupcakes says
These look lovely Lucy and such a lovely tribute to Izzie.
Janice says
I absolutely love coffee cake and these little cupcakes look so delicious. A lovely tribute to Izzie and her outstanding talent as a food blogger.
Nicky says
They looks so tasty! A lovely choice from Izzie’s blog.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Izzie was a great addition to our little community – she will definitely be missed 🙁
Kavey says
I think I would love these, another for us to make soon. Beautiful post.
Angela says
These look gorgeous Lucy, your words are wonderful and this is a fantastic tribute to Isabella.
Nayna says
These cup cakes look adorable and what a lovely tribute to Isabella.
Jane says
A lovely tribute Lucy, and the cupcakes look deelish <3
Tracy Knatt says
Beautifully written – you have really done Isabella justice in this post – so sad to read x
Margot says
This looks sooo good and what a lovely tribute to Isabella!
Kate | Veggie Desserts says
A beautiful tribute to Izzie and such lovely words xx It’s so hard to read these lovely posts without tearing up.