Delicious coffee cupcakes that are easy to make and packed full of coffee flavour. Perfect topped with coffee buttercream.
Of all the cupcake recipes I’ve shared on here (and there have been quite a few now!) this one has probably taken the longest to perfect. I had a very similar problem with this coffee sponge to the one I experienced with my chocolate cake, in that actually when you eat a lot of coffee cakes (and chocolate cakes), pretty much all the coffee flavour is coming from the buttercream and there’s very little coming through from the actual cake.
This was easily solved for the chocolate cake by simply mixing lots of grated chocolate into the cake batter which meant that you got a taste of chocolate in each bite, but you can’t use coffee in the same way so it needed lots more trial and error to get the flavour really coming though.
- It’s really important not to over-bake these as that really kills the flavour.
- Use powdered coffee rather than freshly brewed (or grind up coffee granules using a pestle and mortar or spice grinder) to get a strong flavour whilst keeping the texture of the cake just right.
- Adding a little salt allows you to up the amount of coffee included (so giving a stronger flavour) without the cake getting bitter.
- Switching out the caster sugar in favour of light brown sugar also helps to bring out the coffee flavour. Brown sugar has a hint of caramel and caramel and coffee are match made in heaven.
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Coffee Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp coffee powder - or instant coffee granules ground in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar
- 150 g self-raising flour
- 165 g soft light brown sugar
- 165 g soft margarine - or butter
- 3 medium eggs
- 1½ tsp milk
- ⅛ tsp salt
Extras
- 12 cupcake cases
RECIPE VIDEO
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan.
- Place your cupcake cases into a muffin tin.
- Sift the self-raising flour (150g), coffee powder (10g) into a large bowl and salt (⅛ tsp). Add the remaining ingredients (3 medium eggs, 165g soft margarine, 165g soft light brown sugar and 1½ tsp milk) and mix until fully combined (either by hand or using an electric mixer on a low speed).
- Divide the mixture equally between the muffin cases (I use a cupcake scoop to help split it evenly).
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool in their tins for about 10 minutes and then move them to a wire rack to cool fully before decorating.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Soy-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Lupin-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Lynn Fraser says
Excellent recipe. I make a lot of birthday cakes but made these instead for my son’s birthday. The temperature being slightly lower than many recipes meant that these didn’t ‘dome’ at all and they were soft and luscious. Lots of compliments all round.
cindy says
hi charlotte, just wondering can i use coffee essence instead of coffee cant wait to make this as son law has been asking where to buy coffee cake in australia as he hasnt been able since coming from kiwi land cheers
Charlotte Oates says
I haven’t tested with coffee essence but i would imagine that it would work. The colour and overall flavour might be a little different however.
Annette says
The raw mix tastes incredible!! Are you SURE? 140 degrees for such a short time? Mine are soft soft soft after 25 mins?! Measured perfectly.
Charlotte Oates says
All ovens can vary a little so if you are finding that the temperature doesn’t appear hot enough, by all means increase the temperature by 10 or 20c and see if that makes the difference for you.
Anne says
Hi Charlotte, Just discovered your recipe and would like to try it out. When you say “coffee powder”, do you mean instant coffee powder or actual ground coffee beans? Sorry, might sound like a stupid question but I’m new to both coffee cake making and the instant coffee culture (we only drink freshly brewed coffee here…). Thank you!!
Charlotte Oates says
Instant coffee powder is best to use rather than ground coffee beans as they won’t incorporate into the cake better smoothly enough.
Tanya Mills says
What quantity multiple should I use to make one giant coffee cupcake 15cm diameter tin?
Charlotte Oates says
I have a version of this recipe which makes a larger layer cake which would likely be a better starting point for your recipe. Saying that, I don’t usually recommend baking the cake as one large cake as the outside of the cake is likely to become overcooked whist the middle can be undercooked. So whist that recipe is probably the best starting point for you, I would exercise caution when using your cupcake tin.
Ali says
Fab! Fab! Fab!
Juliana Song says
Love this recipe. Received a lot of good comments from friend and family members.
Eloise says
I’m following this recipe and my cake mixture is just so runny, I have to add additional flour. I used to make this without this problem, has the recipe changed?
Charlotte Oates says
This recipe hasn’t changed at all since it was originally posted. Given that you say you’ve previously made them successfully, I’d suggest that perhaps you accidentally made an error in measuring the quantities this time around.
Pat Brodie says
What size nozzle do I use for the topping on cupcakes
Charlotte Oates says
I use a JEM1B nozzle.
Ines Stelzer says
All i can say is YMMMM
Sarah J says
Yummy & easy coffee cupcakes. The coffee in them is quite strong (don’t eat before bed!) so next time I might use a little less, or use decaf instead.
It is a lot of buttercream, so again next time I would probably make a bit less.
Javaria says
Plzz tell me can i change butter to oiland how much quantity of oil uses
Charlotte Oates says
This recipe has not been tested with oil. As the butter is not melted and provides texture to the cake batter, I would not expect a replacement to be successful.
Ann Marie says
Thank you so much for the recipe. Gonna make it with some scotch buttercream.
Just one question, it says 3 medium eggs, how can I know the size? By any chance, do you have the estimate in grams?
Thank you in advance.
Charlotte Oates says
HI, I have a whole post about egg sizes including the gram weights in various countries which should help – Eggs: Does Size Matter?