Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes

These are THE BEST Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes. Rich and moist chocolate cake topped with silky smooth espresso buttercream and optional, but HIGHLY recommended, salted caramel sauce.

*This recipe and images were updated on 5/8/2025.

What Makes these Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes the BEST?

• Epic Flavor Combo. I mean is there anything better than chocolate + coffee + caramel? I think not.
• Moist Chocolate Cake. These chocolate cupcakes are super easy to make (no mixer required!) and bake up perfectly every single time… fool proof if you will.
• Dreamy Espresso Buttercream. This recipe starts off as a classic American Buttercream, and then espresso powder is dissolved into warm cream and mixed into the frosting creating the most creamy and silky frosting.

Ingredients

• Dry Ingredients. The usual cast of characters – flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt.
• Cocoa Powder. I use Dutch Process Cocoa Powder in this recipe.
• Buttermilk. When baking with dutch process cocoa powder, you need to add something acidic to help the leavening agents (baking powder and baking soda) activate. The buttermilk is perfect for that.
• Vegetable Oil. Truly the secret to a moist cake. Feel free to use Canola or any other neutral oil.
• Coffee. Coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate. We know this. We love this. Just make sure to whisk while you add this so the eggs can temper and they don’t scramble!
• Butter. For the frosting. I typically grab unsalted when making frosting and then add salt myself just so I have full control of the salt content, but if you want to use your favorite salted butter, go for it. Leave it on the counter at least 30 minutes to soften up.
• Espresso Powder. I love this blonde espresso powder from Starbucks, but again, use your favorite. I’d suggest one with a very fine grind so it fully dissolves into the cream.
• Heavy Cream. Don’t even think about using milk.
• Powdered Sugar. No need to sift it or anything crazy.

How to Make Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes

Make the Chocolate Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 and line two cupcake pans with liners. In a large mixing bowl (or your stand mixer with the paddle attachment) add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk. While continuing to whisk, pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Mix until combined. Batter will be quite thick at this point. Continue to whisk and slowly pour in the hot coffee. If you add the coffee too quickly, you risk scrambling the eggs and we definitely don’t want that so take it nice and slow. Once the coffee is added, the batter should be thin and pourable.

Fill cupcake liners half way full. I like to pour batter into a large glass measuring cup with a pour spout to do this without the mess. Don’t be tempted to fill the liners past half full or the cupcakes could overflow when baking, or rise and then sink in the middle. Bake at 350 for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached.

Make the Espresso Buttercream

Measure out 1/2 C heavy cream into a liquid measuring cup and microwave for about 15-20 seconds. You want it warm, but not hot. Add 2 TBSP instant espresso powder. Mix to combine and let sit. The espresso will dissolve into the cream and this is what we will use to flavor the buttercream.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium high speed for 10 minutes. Half way through, scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl so that all of the butter is getting attention. It will lighten in color and become silky smooth. After 10 minutes, add the vanilla and salt and mix to combine.

Add the powdered sugar in 2 additions, mixing on low speed for 3 minutes after each addition. Yes, 3 cups at a time! No need to add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time like a lot of recipes suggest. We aren’t making a wedding cake, it’s not that serious.

Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, start slowly adding the espresso infused cream. You may not need to use the full 1/2 C – that just depends on what consistency you like. I like a pretty fluffy buttercream, so I added about 6 TBSP total. Start by adding 2 TBSP at a time, and continue adding until the buttercream is fluffy, but still holds its shape so that you can pipe it onto the cupcakes.

Assemble the Cupcakes

Fit a piping bag with your favorite tip – I used a classic large round tip for these Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes – and then fill the bag with the espresso buttercream. Swirl the buttercream onto each cupcake. If you want to add the salted caramel sauce like I did, you’ll want to create a little well in the center of the frosting to hold the caramel in place. You can find my recipe for Salted Caramel Sauce here, or feel free to use your favorite store bought variety.

Pipe the frosting onto the cupcake as you normally would, then use a spoon or an offset spatula to create a little indented swirl in the center. This will hold most of the caramel in the center, while allowing some to slowly drip down the sides. Optional, top with some flaky salt.

If you loved this recipe for my Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes be sure to leave a star rating and review below and tag @buuckfarmsbakery on Tiktok and Instagram. To save this recipe for later, just click on the Pinterest icon on the recipe card above, or on any of the images throughout this post.

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