Mocha Coffee Toffee Cupcakes
"At this point, my heartbreak has lasted twenty-four times as long as our relationship." Lena Dunham, Not That Kind of Girl
When I did a search to see if this cupcake existed, I didn't find anything that was what I wanted it to be: buttercreams that were made up primarily of confectioners sugar...cupcakes made from a mix.
So, I pulled from a couple different recipes, written out below.
Notes: Start the buttercream first because it requires a few hours in the fridge to set up before completing.
If you space out and purchase actual espresso grounds instead of instant espresso powder, and do not realize it until you've already added them to the buttercream, don't worry! It will still taste like coffee and you won't be crunching espresso grounds, surprisingly. But, try to remember the espresso powder.
Since these are so rich, they will mold instantly to the shape they are baked in, so give the batter in the molds a little extra push to make sure they're filling out completely. Extra stiff liners are a good idea if you have them (but by no means necessary).
Espresso-Amaretto Buttercream: America's Test Kitchen, taken from their recipe for dacquoise.
3/4 cup whole milk
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons amaretto
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
Heat milk in small saucepan over medium heat until just simmering (small bubbles form). Meanwhile, with a whisk, mix together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in bowl until smooth and well-combined.
Remove milk from heat and add half of milk to yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mix and yolk mixture to remaining milk in saucepan, still whisking constantly. Return saucepan to medium heat and cook mixture, still whisking constantly, until mixture is bubbling and thickens to consistency of warm pudding (this should happen simultaneously at the 3 to 5 minute mark). This forms the pastry cream for the buttercream.
Transfer pastry cream to a heat proof bowl. Cover and refrigerate until it sets, at least 2 hours. Again, if this is a multiple day project for you, you may refrigerate it up to 24 hours.
(Start your cupcakes here.)
Cupcakes: Smitten Kitchen
Chocolate Soufflé Cupcakes
6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I preferred this with bittersweet)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) (86 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) espresso or instant coffee powder
3 large eggs, separated
6 tablespoons (97 grams) sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9 standard-size (3-ounce) muffin cups with paper liners. Stir chocolate, butter and espresso powder together in heavy medium saucepan over low heat mostly melted, then remove from the heat and whisk until it is fully melted and smooth. (I like to put the butter underneath the chocolate in the pan, so that it protects the chocolate from the direct heat.) Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.
Using electric mixer (a hand mixer, rather than a stand mixer, actually works best here because the volumes are so small) beat egg yolks and 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until mixture is very thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Briefly beat lukewarm chocolate mixture, then vanilla extract, into yolk mixture. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and all of the salt, beating until medium-firm peaks form. Fold whites into chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Divide batter among prepared cups, filling each three-fourths of the way.
Bake cakes until tops are puffed and dry to the touch and a tester inserted into the centers comes out with some moist crumbs attached, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a cooling rack, where the cupcakes will almost immediately start to fall.
And back to the buttercream...
Before using pastry cream to make the buttercream, warm gently in microwave at 50 percent power, stirring every 10 seconds until it comes to room temperature. If you don't have a microwave, turn on the oven to over 400, open the door slightly, and set the bowl of pastry cream on the stove until it loosens up.
Mix together the espresso powder and amaretto in a small bowl and set aside.
Beat the softened butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer (or stand mixer) on medium high speed until light and fluffy.
Add the pastry cream to the butter in 3 batches, beating and incorporating the pastry cream into the butter after each addition.
Add the amaretto-espresso mixture to the butter mixture, beating well for about 3 more minutes until the buttercream is well-combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Set buttercream aside. If you need to store the buttercream overnight, cover and refrigerate it. When ready to use, let come to room temperature. You may need to rebeat it in order to bring it back to its fluffy consistency.
Spoon (or, if you're feeling fancy, pipe with wide tip - use a coupler) buttercream onto cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle heavily with toffee bits (we like Heath bar crunch bits in this house), and serve.
