Buttermilk Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream Icing are not only delicious, but it’s easy to make them look professional, too.
After making these buttermilk chocolate cupcakes, you will no longer wonder how bakeries and pastry shops make their cupcakes look so perfect.
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You can also make professional looking cupcakes at home; all that is needed is a couple of basic cake decorating tools.
You may also enjoy these molten chocolate lava cakes!
I’m getting ahead of myself, though, because if the cupcakes don’t taste really good, no one will care that they look so beautiful. So I’ll start with this homemade buttermilk chocolate cupcakes recipe, which has never failed me. Then I’ll show you how to make a lovely mocha buttercream icing, so that it’s not an overly sweet cupcake that only a 5 year old would want to eat. Sound good? Read on.
Since Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, this would fit the bill for dessert after a lovely romantic dinner. What about chocolate cupcakes for your child’s classroom (just substitute milk for the coffee in the icing), treats for your colleagues, or just so you can have a cupcake for a coffee break?
Most people love chocolate, but many people I know just buy Hershey’s cocoa at the local grocery store. I’m going to ask you to venture from this habit and actually use good quality (real) cocoa for this recipe. When you try it once, I won’t have to ask you to do it in future, because you will taste the difference! Here are some examples of brands of cocoa that I buy:
Barry Callebaut (French/Belgian), Perugina (Italian), Bourneville (British), many of which can be found on Amazon.com.
Buttermilk Chocolate Cupcakes
with Mocha Buttercream Icing
slightly adapted from a Good Housekeeping recipe makes 24
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (12 oz) sugar
- 1 1/4 sticks (5 oz) butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 2/3 cup (7.5 oz) flour
- 1 1/4 cups (10 oz) buttermilk
- 1/4 cup of strong coffee
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp instant coffee granules
- 2/3 cup (2 oz) good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
Mocha Buttercream
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) butter, at room temperature
- 5 cups ( 22 oz) confectioner’s sugar
- 1/2 cup (1.5 oz) good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup (2 to 4 oz) cold strong coffee
- 1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350º F (175º C)
Directions
Prepare cupcake tins with cupcake liners. In large bowl, beat sugar and butter until blended, then increase speed and beat until light and fluffy, about 6 or 7 minutes, clearing sides and bottom of bowl with spatula every few minutes.
Reduce speed to low and add eggs, buttermilk, coffee and vanilla.
Then add baking soda, flour, salt, cocoa and coffee powder, beating until well mixed, constantly scraping sides of bowl with spatula.
Increase speed to high and beat 2 minutes, scraping bowl once or twice more.
Here is the first part of getting professional looking cupcakes at home: making them all the same size. I have tried with a measuring cup, but it is very difficult.
What does work is the handy-dandy batter dispenser you see in the photo below. Apparently this one isn’t made anymore, but this one gets good reviews.
Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
I like this recipe because the cupcakes are light yet don’t rise too high so the tops do not need to be cut off.
Make the buttercream by beating the butter until soft, then adding the sugar, cocoa, 1/4 cup (2 oz) coffee and salt, and mixing until creamy and smooth.
Then continue to add more coffee until a soft spreadable or pipeable consistency is reached.
The next step to professional looking cupcakes is the decorating.
Fill a piping bag and use whichever tip you like ( I used a #2D tip) and slowly, but smoothly pipe out the frosting like this:
Ta dah!! Now, wasn’t that easy? If it’s not “perfect,” don’t worry, practice is all you need. My buttermilk chocolate cupcakes don’t always come out exactly how I’d like, but once they’re all finished, they always seem to look better!
You can add powdered sugar, sprinkles or whatever decorations you like, but I like to keep it simple. You can also just eye how much batter you put in each cupcake liner using a tablespoon, and spread the icing on top with a knife. It may not look as pretty, but I guarantee they’ll taste the same!
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Buttermilk Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream Icing (Tutorial)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 5 oz butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ⅔ cup flour (all-purpose)
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup coffee (strong brew)
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp instant coffee granules
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder (good quality, unsweetened)
Mocha Buttercream
- 4 oz butter (at room temperature)
- 5 cups confectioner's sugar (powedered/icing)
- ½ cup cocoa powder (good quality unsweetened)
- ¼ cup cold, strong coffee (you have the option to double this)
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350º F (175º C)
- Prepare cupcake tins with cupcake liners. In large bowl, beat sugar and butter until blended, then increase speed and beat until light and fluffy, about 6 or 7 minutes, clearing sides and bottom of bowl with spatula every few minutes.
- Reduce speed to low and add eggs, buttermilk, coffee and vanilla.
- Then add baking soda, flour, salt, cocoa and coffee powder, beating until well mixed, constantly scraping sides of bowl with spatula.
- Increase speed to high and beat 2 minutes, scraping bowl once or twice more.
- Here is the first part of getting professional looking cupcakes at home: making them all the same size. I have tried with a measuring cup, but it is very difficult. What does work is a handy-dandy batter dispenser.
- Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- I like this recipe because the cupcakes are light yet don't rise too high so the tops do not need to be cut off.
- Make the buttercream: Beat the butter until soft, then adding the sugar, cocoa, coffee, and salt, and mix until creamy and smooth.
- Then continue to add more coffee until a soft spreadable or pipeable consistency is reached.
- The next step to professional looking cupcakes is the decorating.
- Fill a piping bag and use whichever tip you like ( I used a #2D tip) and slowly, but smoothly pipe out the frosting. (See my site for a tutorial.)
Notes
Nutrition
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Oooo that chocolate icing looks divine! Once i’ve got round to buying myself a food mixer, i’ll definitely be trying this recipe. Thank you! Laurie
Hi Laurie, you don’t need a mixer to make these, although it is less work when you do have one. If the butter is room temperature, you can use a wooden spoon to mix up the cupcakes and frosting! :) Thanks for stopping by! CC
I love the tips you shared with us! Your cupcakes are beautiful! I have never heard of this chocolate, but would love to try it! Thanks for letting me know about the contest. I will spread the word!
You will LOVE Green & Black’s and they have so many different flavors! This is REAL chocolate, none of that waxy chocolate most people eat or use to bake with (I’m not naming names! haha!) ;) Good luck in the contest! CC
I love the Green & Black’s Espresso Bar and Ginger Bar the best!
adb6{at}humboldt{dot}edu
Thank you, Amanda, but if you would like to enter the giveaway, be sure to do it in the white giveaway box above (if it doesn’t appear immediately, give it a few seconds.) You can earn up to 5 entries, too! Good luck! CC
CC: Please send me three Maya and two mint, okay? Hugs – Nancy
I wish I could!! ;) CC
Is there a bad flavor? I think not!!
I agree wholeheartedly! When the chocolate is fabulous, how can you go wrong, mindelei?! :) Thanks for stopping by!
My favorite is the Mint Organic Dark Chocolate infused with peppermint oil 60% cocoa. (Not the one with the white filling – although that one isn’t bad.)I can eat one of those all by myself! Not good!
This^^^ is Emilia, by the way. :)
Hi Emilia! Make sure you leave the comment in the white giveaway box above to be entered to win! Good luck! CC
I love the cupcakes and MUST get that batter dispenser, It’s so hard to portion properly using a spoon or measuring cup. The cupcakes are beautiful, I’ll have to try that tip you used for the icing.
My favorite Green and Black is the 70% dark and milk chocolate.
I thought the batter dispenser might be one of those “use it once and never again” kind of tools, but I LOVE it! You can adjust it for three different amounts too. Make sure you enter the contest in the white box above so that you’re in the running to win! Thanks, Suzanne and good luck!
Thank you so much I did enter, I love chocolate!!
Lots of luck!! :)
My favorite Green & Black’s bar is the Espresso bar!
Thanks, Elin! Make sure to enter in the white box above if you want to win the chocolate prizes! CC