I actually made these Mocha cupcakes back in Sept. to celebrate my co-worker and my sister-in-law's birthdays. I'm finally letting them have their spotlight. My favorite part about making these Mocha Cupcakes, was that I got to buy instant espresso powder. Every year, my family and I travel to Mexico over the New Year's holiday. We sometimes get sick of boozing all day, or just need a pick me up before hitting the discoteque-- so we get an espresso. The espresso in Mexico is tasty... and for whatever reason (they probably add tequila) it seems to have 1,000X the amount of caffeine that normal "american" espresso has. Because of this, when choosing my instant espresso powder, I reached for the one with the oh-so-familiar red, white and green flag printed on the label. Naturally I was pumped to have this special powder in my kitchen. After making a batch of the drink for myself, I was more than ready to tackle Martha's recipe.
The baking went pretty well, with a few Mindy modifications. Since I had the authentic espresso powder, I figured I could 'doctor' up some of the other ingredients that I just didn't happen to have in my fridge. Instead of the called for sour cream, I put in buttermilk. The buttermilk was on the fringe to expired, so I figured it was "sour" enough to count for sour cream. Instead of making what looks like the most delicious mocha flavored buttercream, I took a can of white frosting, and dumped a little espresso in it to make it sort-of espresso frosting. It turned out OK, but was a little runny. Speaking of runny, the batter was like water and barely filled up 22 cups. The combination of cocoa powder and the espresso made these rich and delicious, even to those who don't do coffee.(It was probably the few shots of tequila I added in with the espresso-not) Muy Bueno!
Cupcake Stats:
Martha says this recipe will make 24. It made me: 22
WW points: Yeah took a break with that too. Back on the wagon, so they say.
