- Ingredients:
- 4oz (100g) butter
- 4oz (100g) caster sugar
- 4oz (100g) self raising flour
- 2 medium eggs (beaten)
- 1 tablespoon cold, strong black coffee
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Buttercream Topping/ Frosting:
- 5oz (125g) unsalted butter
- 10oz (250g) icing sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons cold, strong black coffee
Coffee Cupcakes,
- coffee cupcake
Easy Coffee Cupcake Recipe:
This lovely coffee cupcake recipe includes a delicious coffee buttercream icing.
- Pre-heat the oven to 160°C fan , 180°C , 350°F/ gas mark 4.
- Put 12 muffin cases into a muffin/ bun tray
- Cream together the butter and sugar using a wooden spoon or an electric mixer (this should only take approx 3 minutes using an electric hand mixer)
- Gradually add the eggs, about a tablespoon at a time and beat after each addition
- Mix in the vanilla extract. Sift the flour into the bowl
- Gently fold the flour into the mixture until thoroughly mixed
- Add 1 tablespoon cold, strong black coffee and mix gently
- Carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them to about two thirds full
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the cupcakes are golden and slightly raised
- To check they are cooked insert a skewer into the centre of one of the cakes – it should come out clean. If the mixture is stuck to the skewer return the cakes to the oven and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and leave in the tins to cool for approx 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Topping
Coffee Butter Cream/ Frosting
- Place butter in a large mixing bowl, and beat using a wooden spoon or an electric mixer until soft
- Gradually sift in the icing sugar mixing well after each addition (the more you beat the lighter and fluffier the frosting will be)
- Beat in 1 – 2 tablespoon cold, strong black coffee ( to give a soft consistency to allow for piping)
The Cake Recipe Team Comments:
- If not using the butter cream/ frosting straight away it can be stored for up to a week if stored in the fridge. Once removed from the fridge it should be left for at least an hour to obtain room temperature
- See our blog for tips on the perfect coffee buttercream topping http://www.thecakerecipe.co.uk/perfect-coffee-buttercream-icing/
Have you baked our coffee cupcake recipe? We’d love to know your thoughts and suggestions? Please leave a comment below.
Or, why not submit your own recipe for others to share and be in with a chance of winning £20 M & S vouchers. It’s really easy just click on the ‘Submit A Recipe’ tab – no registration required.
Welcome to The Cake Recipe, founded by Sharon, a passionate baker and mum of two, living in rural Lancashire. 
I just made these cupcakes and they tasted the same as normal vanilla cupcakes but it was darker in colour! I added lots of coffee. The mixture became runny and therefore I couldn’t add anymore! Any tips on how I could get the coffee taste?
If you found the coffee taste wasn’t strong enough simply double the amount of coffee, but keep the amount of water the same.
The cakes were moist and delicious although I couldn’t really taste the coffee, but all i did was make the icing really strong and it made up for it. I made them again with only one egg and they turned out just as good – so that’s a good money saving tip! Plus you can make them lower fat by just using coffee and water in the icing rather than butter. It’s probably not as indulgent but they taste great all the same.
Thank you so much for the easy recipe. It was delicious!
Your coffee cupcakes recipe is wrong in grams
Thanks for letting us know. It’s now correct.
Does it have to be buttercream icing WITH coffee or just normal icing????
Yes the recipe’s for coffee buttercream icing.
I tried making the cupcakes again and this time the frosting turned out great! The ingredients must have been at the wrong temperature last time. Thanks again for these amazing cakes!
Glad they worked out this time
What type of coffee. Just any?
Yes just standard instant coffee is fine.
Thanks a lot for the tips. I also would like to say that your recipe for the batter was the best I have ever used! The cupcakes turned out just the size I wanted them.
As for the icing, I think the mistake must have been using coffee that wasn’t entirely cold and that must have caused something to the butter that didn’t allow it to turn smooth. I also might have poured too much coffee in it. In the end I just used a spoon to apply the icing as I couldn’t use a piping bag. The taste however was really great despite the icing issue. I will try them again for sure and let you know about the icing. Thanks for the delicious recipe though!
I tried making them, the cupcakes turned out amazing, however I seemed to have a little issue with the icing, instead of one creamy blend it was a mixture of sweet, small particles of butter with coffee. Maybe I used too much coffee or it hadn’t cooled down properly. How can I make one smooth paste? I used an electric mixer. Thanks a lot!
First of all you need to ensure the coffee is completely cold and the butter is at room temperature? It may help if you add the coffee alternately with the icing sugar ie. add a spoonful of icing sugar to the butter and a splash of coffee – then mix until smooth. Repeat until all the coffee and icing sugar are used. Hope this helps! Let me know how you get on? Thanks
I just finished making these. WOW coffee smacked me right in the taste buds. Maybe I added more coffee accidentally
were amazing.
Also just realised they don’t have any milk and mine sank a little after baking… but still taste great! My husband loves them and expects me to make them again.
Thank you…
Thanks. In the end, I just used glace icing, I will maybe make them again with piped butter icing. Anyway, my nephew, who is a very fussy eater, ate two of them and seemed to like them. Thanks for the recipe, it has inspired me to keep experimenting.
GREAT RECIPE!!
THANKS!
Hi, I am looking to bake these delicious looking cakes to take up to my sister’s next week. I want to put swirls on when icing (like the picture) and am not sure if the best thing to use is a piping bag or a syringe. What would you recommend? Also, it takes a number of hours to travel to where she lives so I was reluctant to use butter icing in case it was too soft. My mum suggested glace icing. Is it possible to use this and pipe with it?
Hi, glace icing is just your standard icing made from icing sugar/ water. It isn’t possible to pipe it. I would recommend using a piping bag with a large star nozzle. In terms of transporting them, try to keep them as cool as possible. Regards Sharon
The instructions tell you to add in the vanilla extract but it is not listed in the ingredients list or the amount to use, could you confirm please? Thanks
Thanks for letting us know. We’ve added it into the ingredients list.
how many cupcakes does this recipe make?
The number of servings is always listed at the top right of the page. In this case it serves 12. Enjoy your baking Sharon
Black coffee granules or black coffee made?
Hi, thanks for your question. The recipe’s referring to strong black coffee dissolved in a little boiled water. Hope that helps. Good luck with the baking -The Cake Recipe Team!
Great recipe, really easy.