Baking is Love: double chocolate cupcakes with espresso frosting.

A rich, chocolate and coffee lovers' dessert: Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Espresso Frosting!

An EXTRA-CHOCOLATEY cupcakes.

Again, I baked delicious chocolate cupcakes for a special project collaborating with a Custom Print Shop from New Jersey -> Simply Love Creations! They design custom prints to decorate your home, kids bedroom, bathroom, playroom and also baby nursery. They really have beautiful custom prints with so many cute and unique designs you'll definitely love! :)

"There is always a reason to bake."

The one which was sent to me is this pink kitchen wallart with a super nice quote: "There is always a reason to bake." How can I not love this??? It has become my most favourite line at the moment. Every baker with such passion will absolutely feel the same way too. And I'm styling my cupcakes today using this wallart as background and successfully made a great photoshoot! Yaay!

Love this shot! Pink is always my thing. :)

These cupcakes, as they have been revealed by the title as "double" - have a very rich chocolate taste! And the chocolate espresso frosting is probably one of the best forms of frosting I've tried ever! So fudgy, so creamy, and has a great hint of coffee. Just a perfect accompaniment to the chocolate cupcakes!

perfectly frosted.

And the best thing about making cupcakes is they are sooo easy and also quick to make. You only need ca. 20-25 minutes to bake them, and you can make the frosting while waiting. No wasted time. They're also perfect for any occasion... like all day, everyday, holiday. Making frosting (and piping it) is also really fun, isn't it! :)

This has been one of my most favourite blog post so far. So let's give it a try, especially for you - dear chocolate and coffee lovers! Here's the recipe to follow!

Making ca. 6 large cupcakes or 12-14 normal cupcakes.

For the chocolate cupcakes:

Ingredients:

175 grams all purpose flour
50 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder
240 ml boiling hot water

113 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
200 grams granulated white sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1). Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly butter, or line 12-14 baking cups with paper liners.

2). In a small bowl, stir the boiling water and cocoa powder until smooth. Let them cool to room temperature.

3). In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3). In a medium-sized bowl, with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated. Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

4). Fill each baking cup about two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16-20 minutes, and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. (Do not over bake or the texture of the cupcakes will be dry).

5). Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

For the chocolate espresso frosting and assembling:

Ingredients:

85 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup (80 ml) buttermilk
1/4 cup (25 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
16 oz. (500 grams) confectioners' or icing sugar
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
sugar hearts, for decoration (optional)

Directions:

1). In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, cocoa powder and espresso powder, stir until the espresso powder dissolves.
2). Add the butter and beat as medium speed with a hand mixer until creamy.
3). Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and well combined.
4). Spoon into a piping bag and frosting over each cupcake. Top with sugar hearts, sprinkle, Ferrero Rocher, etc. Decorate in any way you love!.

Enjoy!
Hope you all like it!