Hello Monday! *waves*✋
You must be thinking, it is Monday and I am blogging about cupcakes with swirls of buttercream instead of a Skinny Monday Post?
Well, at times you need some kind of motivation to push you through Monday. This time, I chose my motivation to be in the form of a cupcake.
Perfectly normal right?
Anyways, I have seen people doing a no sugar challenge. Some are even doing the challenge for a whole month. A week, I might still pull through. A whole month, I won’t get anywhere near there.
People who are on the no-sugar-challenge, You guys are strong. May the force be with you and stick with you as well.
I call for my sugar fix once a while.
So back to these cupcakes. These cupcakes were made for my aunt who was supposedly craving for my cupcakes. (That’s what she said) Personally, I get cravings quite often too. I have been craving for a good carrot cake for a month now and not forgetting the earl grey cake that my cousin showed me on Instagram! The list goes on actually but it’s not my fault. It’s obviously hereditary.
Anyways, my aunt is not a chocolate fan but she loves her coffee, so I believe coffee was the right way to go.
I used my favorite vanilla cupcake recipes and added a shot of espresso. I also substituted half of the cane sugar with brown sugar. There is a tiny weeny bit of espresso in the swiss meringue buttercream which really made this a subtle espresso infused buttercream frosting.
Talking about buttercream, I can never understand the icing sugar + butter kinda frosting. You know the kinda frosting that uses 1 cup of butter and 4 cups of icing sugar. FOUR CUPS OF ICING SUGAR? These are the sort of people that should be kept locked up and made to do the no-sugar challenge. The audacity of some people!
Furthermore, I do not enjoy the grainy texture that icing sugar has in the frosting plus a frosting should never be overly sweet. It should complement the cake nicely and not overwhelm it. This swiss meringue buttercream, on the other hand is gorgeously smooth and velvety. It has just the right amount of sweetness and it is easily one of my favorite frostings.
Do give this Espresso Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting a try. The cake itself is delicate, moist and delicious that surely has the right amount of espresso. Paired with this delicious and pillowy frosting, it makes the perfect treat anytime.
Coffee? Check. Sugar? Check. Cream? Check. This is what a coffee lover’s dream is made of. ????
- ¾ cup butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup castor sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2⅔ cups Self raising flour
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 shot espresso (1 ounce)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large egg whites
- ⅔ cup castor sugar
- 250 g butter - cut into small chunks,
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ shot espresso (0.5 ounces)
- Mix the espresso and the milk.
- Using a mixer, beat butter, castor sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add egg, one at a time, beating until well combined.
- Add about a third of the flour and beat to combine.
- Pour half on the milk in the flour mixture and beat to combine.
- Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
- Stir in vanilla.
- Scoop batter into cupcake cups about ⅔ full and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Keep aside to cool while making the frosting.
- Combine egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water.
- Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved.
- Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Start on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff peaks form.
- Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool for about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the butter a little at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla.
- Continue beating for about 3-5 minutes and do keep scraping down the sides with a spatula.
- Add in espresso and let it mix for another 20 seconds till well incorporated.
- Frost cupcakes as desired.
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