- 2
Ingredients
- CAKE
- 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoon espresso powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- 24 chocolate coffee beans for garnish (optional)
- Caramel filling and drizzle
- Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Chocolate Ganache Frosting infused with Espresso
- Ingredients
- 4 oz bittersweet chocolate
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
- 10 oz semisweet chocolate
- 2 sticks butter unsalted
- 1/4 cup espresso powder
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
Preparation
Step 1
Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners, set aside.
Sift sugar, flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on low-speed.
In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down side of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add boiling (has to be boiling or it won’t work) water and stir to combine.
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes. At 7 minutes into the bake rotate pans and don’t open the oven door again until 18 minutes have gone by. Once you have figured out the exact bake time for your oven you should not keep opening the door. These are best left alone. The cakes will sink if you open the oven door too much.
Let cool completely and remove from the pans. Rather than excavate the middle out of the cupcakes to fill with caramel. Just push the cupcake down with the bottom of a clean ice cream scoop.
Fill with Caramel.
Frost the cooled cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting .
Drizzle with caramel and sprinkle heavily with sea salt. Add a chocolate coffee bean for garnish.
Caramel Sauce:
To make the caramel, put the sugar and cream in a heavy bottom saucepan set over low heat. Heat gently, stirring with a wooden spoon as it comes to a boil. Once it is boiling, add the butter and stir. Bring caramel back to a boil let it bubble gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take the caramel off the heat, add the salt, and stir vigorously to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed in. Let the caramel cool and then fill cupcakes. Reserve some of the caramel to drizzle after chocolate ganache frosting layer, set this caramel aside.
Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
Chill it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or so, whatever it takes to get it thick enough to frost. Frost the cupcakes once the frosting is thick enough. Keep in the refrigerator unused portion covered tight for up to one week.