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Mocha Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes
Moist fudgy chocolate cupcakes infused with coffee, filled with mocha mousse and topped with fudgy espresso ganache frosting. These cupcakes are for true chocolate lover's, and coffee lover's too! It's a match made in dessert heaven.
Ingredients
Mocha Cupcake Batter:
- 1 ⅔ cups 235g all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup 56g cocoa powder (I prefer this one)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup 200g granulated sugar
- ½ cup 110g packed dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup 113g unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup 180ml whole milk
- 1 teaspoon 5ml pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup 240ml strong hot coffee
Espresso Ganache Frosting:
- 10 oz 284g semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 ½ cups 360ml 35% whipping cream, divided
- 3 tablespoon 45ml honey
- 2 tablespoon 28g unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon 5ml pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Chocolate Mousse Filling:
- ⅓ cup 80ml Espresso Ganache Frosting
- ¼ cup 60ml 35% whipping cream, whipped to firm peaks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
- Make the cupcake batter. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, espresso powder and salt and whisk to blend well. Add eggs, melted butter, milk and vanilla and whisk until it comes together. It doesn’t have to be completely smooth yet. Add the hot coffee gradually in two stages to minimize clumps forming and whisk gently until evenly combined and the batter smooth.
- Spoon or pour batter into lined muffin cups filling them no more than ¾ full and bake for 16-20 minutes until cakes spring back when pressed gently and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before transferring individually onto the rack to cool completely.
- For the frosting, place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a simmer (or heat in the microwave) and immediately pour it over the chopped chocolate. Add honey, espresso powder, vanilla and salt, then cover and let stand for 2 minutes. Whisk gently until smooth and glossy, then place it in the freezer and stir every 5 minutes until it is very thick, but not firm. It should be the consistency of soft pudding and this will take about 30 minutes.
- Make the frosting. Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat 1 ¼ cups (300ml) of cream until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and pour it over the chocolate in the bowl. Add honey, butter, vanilla, espresso powder and salt and whisk gently until smooth and glossy. Place it in the freezer and stir every 5 minutes until thickened but not stiff. It will take 20-30 minutes. If you use the fridge it will take about 40 minutes to an hour.
- Make the filling. Take ⅓ cup of the frosting and place in another medium bowl. Whip the remaining ¼ cup (60ml) of cream to firm peaks and fold it into the chocolate frosting.
- Use a small knife to cut out the centers of each cupcake and fill with the mocha mousse filling. Spread or pipe the frosting on top and drizzle with my Easy One Pot Hot Fudge Sauce!
