Festive mini coffee cupcakes ideal for post dinner petit fours. You could reduce the amount of icing by a third and spread it over the cake bases with a small palette knife instead of piping swirls using a piping bag.
Prep Time45 minutesmins
Cook Time10 minutesmins
Total Time55 minutesmins
Servings: 36mini cupcakes
Author: Sarah Trivuncic
Ingredients
125gbuttersoftened
125gcaster sugar (superfine baking sugar)
2large eggs
1tspground coffee
110gself raising flour
15gcocoa powder
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<em>For the topping</em>
120gsoftened butter
360gicing sugar (confectioners sugar)
30mlmilk
1/2tspground coffee powder
2drops coffee extract
1bar of Aero cut into small shards
Gold sprinkles
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 190c / gas mark 5. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar together. This can be done by hand or with a handheld electric or stand mixer.
Beat in the eggs one by one along and then fold in the flour, cocoa powder and ground coffee.
Using two teaspoons, decant the batter into the paper cases. If you have 3 baking tins you can do them all at the same time otherwise do 12 at a time. You'll barely need a dollop per case.
Bake the cakes for 8-10 minutes, they're very small so take care not to over bake.
Allow the cakes to cool in the trays for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile beat the softened butter into the icing sugar and add the milk, coffee powder and coffee extract. I blitz mine in the food processor to prevent clouds of icing sugar getting everywhere.
To pipe the cupcakes, decant the buttercream into the disposable piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Pipe a small swirl in a circular movement onto each cake before topping with some shards of Aero.
Notes
You will need a 12 hole mini muffin baking tin and paper cases. To pipe swirls you will need a disposable piping bag with a star nozzle.