Happy (Very Belated) Hearts Day & Mocha Cupcakes

Valentine's Day and I have a love/hate relationship. For seventeen years of my life I celebrated it with my parents and my brother but this year I was stuck at school and had to make due. To get in the spirit I wore a skirt with hearts all over it and brought some delicious mocha cupcakes back to school with me for my roommate and my "valentine" aka my friend Amanda (she was my school valentine... I had another one at home hehee). Oh, and I listened to Rihanna's "Te Amo" nonstop. Not your traditional romantic mushy song but it's pretty awesome.


I went to Michael's to get art supplies the weekend before V-Day and saw some cute take out boxes with "xoxo" on them and of course I snatched them up to load goodies into. I then went back to my house and proceeded to make a huge mess with the cocoa powder and some flat lookin cupcakes. Hmmm... They were so good and had a nice flavor but after a few days they got really dry. Most cupcakes I make taste good even a week after they're made so this was a weird experience for me. Not sure why that happened, but hey, the mocha buttercream was still delicious!


Mocha Cupcakes recipe from Marth Stewart's Cupcake Book. Yield: 24 (I cut the recipe and made 18)


2 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temp.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup freshly brewed espresso
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (not instant coffee)


1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
2. Mix together cake flour and cocoa. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in brown sugar and eggs. Add vanilla, baking soda, and salt, beating to combine thoroughly.
3. Reduce speed and add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of sour cream, and beating until just combined after each. Mix brewed espresso and espresso powder together and add to batter. Beat until smooth.
4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 18-20 minutes. 
5. Let the cupcakes cool completely while you make the buttercream. I can offer no measurements for this but I usually use about two sticks of butter and four or five cups of confectioners sugar? That may actually be completely off - I'm not sure. Haha. Add vanilla extract and instant espresso powder to taste.

my bad... cocoa powder is tricky to clean!!!

For some reason I can never wait for the frosting to try my cupcakes!

Red hot, white chocolate chip and chocolate chip hearts

cuuute. I love take-out boxes haaha.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY