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Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Irish Baileys Frosting

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Irish Baileys Frosting to get you in the Holiday spirit or as a fantastic St. Patrick's Day treat. The chocolate and coffee cupcakes are so moist and pairs incredibly with the creamy Baileys buttercream. These are simple to make, great to freeze and work for so many occasions.

 

Chocolate cupcakes on a cake stand.

 

They are elegant, but not too fancy and a dessert made in heaven for the chocolate + coffee lovers! If you are, then I can highly recommend a few other recipes such as no churn chocolate coffee ice cream, Guinness coffee brownies, mocha panna cotta and chocolate coffee truffles! Scroll to the bottom of this post for even more delicious ideas. 

 

And if you want more excuses for that bottle of Baileys, try this moist chocolate sheet cake with Baileys cream cheese frosting too!

 

Chocolate coffee cupcakes on a white plate, one cut open.

 

How to store cupcakes

 

The very best way to store cupcakes is by having the frosted cupcakes in the muffin pan and then covered in a large box. If you don't have a large enough box for the muffins, I guess it's not a deal breaker, you just need to accept that the frosting will get a little dry. Best eaten the first 2-3 days, but can be eaten on day 4 and 5 if refrigerated, although refrigerated cakes go stale faster.  

 

Small plate with two cupcakes and one cut open.

 

If you by any kind of miracle have way too many cupcakes - please do not frost them. Unfrosted cupcakes can be kept quite well in the freezer. You can wrap them in cling foil or aluminum foil. You can also freeze the frosting, but these two elements should be frozen separately for the best texture and flavor. 

 

When ready to defrost a chocolate coffee cupcake, leave it on the counter for a few hours and once it's defrosted or almost defrosted, go ahead and frost it. The frosting could also thaw on the counter. 

 

Three white plates with chocolate cupcakes and frosting.

 

Beautiful frosting or delicious frosting?

 

That is the question.

 

Not a hard question in my book though. I'm always opting for flavor over looks, and so should you! I know the frosting pictured isn't the most beautiful, but let me tell you - it is AMAZING. It is so good I'm thinking I should smear it on toast and call it breakfast too

 

A cake stand with chocolate cupcakes and Baileys frosting.

 

This buttercream frosting technically has too much liquid and not enough butter. I contemplated long before deciding to not give a sh*t. I've tried reducing the liquid, but it just doesn't get the right flavor - too much powdered sugar flavor and not enough coffee and Baileys. And I don't want it to taste like just butter either.

 

Ahh, the struggles. But don't worry about all this - just make the frosting and see what deliciousness I'm talking about!

 

Big bowl of coffee Baileys frosting.

 

And we all love Baileys, right?

 

To reduce the chance of the buttercream splitting, using ingredients in the same temperature can help. What I found works really well is to combine the hot coffee with cold milk and Baileys and it should get about the same temperature as the butter and powdered sugar. 

 

A note on room temperature butter

 

Room temperature butter isn't super soft. In fact, it should feel cool to the touch. It will only make an indent in the butter if you press it with your finger. Room temperature butter is about 65F (18C).

 

Using room temperature butter in the Baileys frosting makes for a creamier end result as the ingredients bond more seamlessly. Cold ingredients dot not mix well and the frosting could get clumpy. 

 

Chocolate cupcakes baked in a muffin tin.

 

You can let the cold butter sit on the counter for about 1-2 hours (depending on the temperature in your kitchen) before it's room temperature. If you need a quick fix, Sally has a great tip on quickly soften butter.

 

Moist and delicious chocolate coffee cupcakes

 

Preheat your oven to 350C (180C). Mix your dry ingredients together (1). Melt butter in a sauce pan at low, combine with cocoa powder. When this is smooth, pour in the coffee (2-3).

 

First four steps to make cupcake batter.

 

Pour in the cocoa-butter mixture and 1 egg and combine at low speed (4-5). Add the buttermilk mixture, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth (6-7).

 

Steps to make cupcake batter.

 

Pour mixture into cupcake liners (about 20 regular muffin-sized). Bake in the oven for around 17-20 minutes. Voilà!

 

While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. I'm not digging massive amounts of frosting on my cupcakes, you can see how much I put on them, if you want more, you could easily double the recipe. And if you have too much, cover and set in the fridge. No problem!

 

Ingredients to make Baileys frosting.

 

To make the frosting, beat all the ingredients together, but make sure the liquid is room temperature. You can combine cold milk and Baileys with hot coffee and it should get about room temperature. Spread on the cupcakes once they're cold.

 

Cake stand with chocolate coffee cupcakes. Flat lay.

 

Is coffee too strong a flavor for you or your kids? Why don't you try these Chocolate Banana Muffins instead (or in addition to, of course), equally easy and super delicious. Want something more pumpkin-y for fall? Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies or Pumpkin White Chocolate Muffins with Streusel Topping!

 

Another fun thing for the kids are these Easter coconut cupcakes (which are very much delicious for both kids and adults). 

 

Enjoy! 

 

Did you like these chocolate coffee cupcakes? Here's more with the chocolate coffee combination:

 

 

Chocolate coffee cupcakes on a white plate and coffee beans in a small bowl.

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below or tag me @thegingerwithspice on Instagram. And don’t forget to Pin it for later! To make sure you’re never missing another recipe, please feel free to subscribe to my newsletter. As a thanks you will receive a free e-cookbook Travels Through the Seasons, with many delicious recipes from around the world that suit different seasons of the year. 

 

 

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This recipe was originally published on Nov 23rd 2017, but updated on Sep 26th 2020 for better photos and content.

📖 Recipe

A cake stand with chocolate cupcakes and Baileys frosting.

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Irish Baileys Frosting

Yield: 20 cupcakes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Irish Baileys Frosting to get you in the Holiday spirit. The chocolate and coffee cupcakes are so moist and pairs incredibly with Baileys.

Ingredients

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes

  • 1 ⅓ cups flour, 170g*
  • 1 ⅛ cups granulated sugar, 235g
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick butter, 115g
  • 4 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, 40g
  • ½ cup strong coffee, 125ml
  • ⅓ cup buttermilk, 80g. Room temperature. (Norwegian: kulturmelk)
  • 1 egg + 1 extra yolk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Irish Baileys Frosting

  • 2 cups powdered sugar, 270g
  • ⅓ cups room temperature butter, 90g
  • 2 tablespoon Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur, or something similar
  • 2 tablespoon instant coffee granules, mixed with 1-2 tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon milk, optional
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F).
  2. Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients; flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
  3. Cocoa-butter mixture: Melt butter in a saucepan at low, then combine with cocoa powder. When this is smooth, pour in the coffee.
  4. Beat until smooth: Pour in the cocoa-butter mixture and 1 egg and 1 egg yolk and combine at low speed. Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract, and beat until smooth.
  5. Bake: Pour mixture into cupcake liners (about 20 regular muffin-sized). Bake in the oven for around 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
  6. Make the frosting*: Beat all the ingredients together, but make sure the liquid ingredients are room temperature. Combining the hot coffee, with the other cold ingredients will usually make it room temperature quickly. Spread on cupcakes as you wish.

Notes

* I always recommend using a kitchen scale when baking.

* *  If you want more frosting, you could easily double the recipe. And if you have too much, cover and set in the fridge or even freeze for a later occasion.

This frosting technically has too much liquid and not enough butter, but I did not want to leave anything out because it is one of the BEST frostings ever and the flavor will not be right if reducing the liquid and increasing the butter. A more correct ratio would be about 2 tablespoon liquid and 135g butter, but this frosting still holds its shape rather well - trust me!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 219Total Fat: 9.4gSaturated Fat: 5.7gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 160mgCarbohydrates: 33.5gFiber: 0.9gProtein: 2g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or tag @thegingerwithspice on Instagram, I'd love to see!

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Karly

Friday 24th of November 2017

Wow, these look INCREDIBLE. The only thing better than dronkign Bailey’s has to be eating it in cupcake form ;)

Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice

Monday 27th of November 2017

Yess, I totally agree! Thank you so much, Karly

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