When a colleague and friend retires, what do we do? Make cupcakes of course!
After surveying her favorite flavors and considering the holidays, we decided to create a cupcake that pays homage to a favorite seasonal latte flavor!
The cake is moist and has a delightful gingerbread flavor with a hint of coffee. We used a rendition of our favorite European Buttercream to frost the top of these in order to bring across the texture of that delicious latte foam. We used a tablespoon of vanilla and a teaspoon of coffee extract to flavor the buttercream to complement the subtle latte flavors in the cake.
Creative Clue
We topped each cupcake with a chocolate covered espresso bean and dusted them with a mixture of 1 part ground cinnamon to 3 parts ground ginger. You can also add just a pinch of espresso powder to kick it up a notch, if you desire.
These were a hit – and they are perfect for any time of day!
- 2¼ cups flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon clove
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons coffee extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare cupcake pans with liners.
- Place all dry ingredients in a stand mixer, mixing on low until combined.
- Cut butter into chunks and slowly add to dry ingredients, mixing on low until mixture looks like sand.
- In a separate bowl mix together the milk, sour cream, eggs, and extracts until combined.
- slowly add half of the milk mixture to the dry mixture, mixing on low and then increasing speed to medium. Mix for about 2 minutes on medium.
- Decrease speed to low and slowly add remaining milk mixture, scraping sides of bowl, mixing until just combined.
- Fill cupcake liners ½ full and bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
