Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes

So I mentioned a few days ago that my friend Luna is have a "pot luck" pool/cocktail party on Saturday and I've been trying to decide on something to make for a while now... I wanted to try something new and different and needed to settle on something that would be easy to serve and taste good to just about anybody.

I found this recipe for Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes on Nicole's blog at Sweet and Sassy. They came out perfect. SO moist and delicious... I ended up having to use the total 6 cups of powedered sugar to make sure the frosting was thick enough and even afterwards it was a little runny down the sides of the cuppys but finger-licking good and worth the mess! Wish I had gotten a better picture of the final product but trust me, they're mm-mm-gooooood....

My VERY helpful baking assistant doing what she does best... per usual... :)

The coffee buttercream frosting ended up thick, buttery, and easy to spread. I threw in about a teaspoon or so of extra instant coffee granules... just to increase the coffee flavor because the actual cake could have used a tad more of it.

Just to please all of the other coffee lovers besides me (I strongly believe there's NO such thing as too much coffee flavor in ANY kind of dessert...) I topped each with chocolate covered coffee beans. It looked pretty and gives a little crunch to these rich and decadent cupcakes.

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes:

-A box of Devils Food cake mix

-3 tbsp. instant coffee

-1/2 cup GOOD & strong brewed coffee

Buttercream Frosting:

-1 stick butter (softened)

-1/4 c. milk

-5 or 6 cups powdered sugar

-3 tsp. instant coffee (maybe a bit more if you really like the coffee flavor)

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

• Prepare the Devils Food cake mix according to the directions on the box
• Add the 3 tbsp. of instant coffee to the batter and mix well to incorporate
• Distribute the batter evenly to 24 paper-lined muffin cups (about 2/3 full or so)
• Bake at 350 degrees according to directions (mine took about 18-19 mins)
• Brush tops of the cupcakes with the fresh brewed coffee using a pastry brush
• Make the buttercream frosting: mix instant coffee with milk in a seperate bowl
• Add butter & sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until you reach desired frosting consistency
• Frost generously and top with chocolate covered coffee beans for something a little extra