Choca-mocha cupcakes, to awaken the senses...

Does the combination of smooth dark chocolate blended with the aromatic fragrance of freshly roasted coffee entice you? My latest cupcake creations sought to capture the harmonious fusion of chocolate and coffee, transforming the tempting flavours of a warm mug of mocha-latte into an edible bite-sized treat. This week, I drew my inspiration from the incredible coffee artistry of my friend Ben, whose beautiful caffeine-based creations would make the ideal accompaniment to a decadent chocolate cupcake (in my case, make it a soy decaf latte..).

My choca-mocha cupcakes, served cafe-style...

Ben's artistic coffee decoration, the creative inspiration for my mocha cupcakes (all credits for Iphone photography skill and coffee decoration go to Ben!)

In designing these cupcakes, I also thought that the anti-oxidant rich and caffeine-ladden combination of chocolate and coffee would provide a good little 'pick-me-up' for the notoriously caffeine addicted and sleep deprived second-year medical students who were to be on the receiving end of these cupcakes...and of course the addition of a dash of alcohol never seems to do any harm either...

The fruitful product of my trip to the liquor cabinet - dark, fragrant Tia Maria, the liquor distillation of intense coffee flavour and a key ingredient of my mocha cupcakes!

Not quite as charming or as perfect a match as my cherry-on-top themed cardigan but I couldnt resist featuring this 'tia maria' bottle inspired outfit

I set out to create a very rich, dense and decadent mocha-flavoured cupcake by infusing a double chocolate sponge with a good dash of tia maria (for a non-drinker, my little excursions to the purely decorative family drinks cabinet have become increasingly frequent!), as well as an additional hit of coffee. In an uncharacteristic display of restraint, I resisted the temptation to add any further flavours to the cupcakes, seeking to foreground the already complex flavour notes offered by the meltingly dark duo of coffee and chocolate. Indeed, the rich aroma of these cupcakes as they baked was quite intoxicating.

My cake baking and decorating skills are clearly a bit more advanced than my food-photography skills! Nevertheless, here are the finished products of my coffee-chocolate cupcake endeavours

By means of decoration, I chose a velvety and luxurious white chocolate ganache created by pouring warm cream over shards of white chocolate. The milky sweetness of the white chocolate seemed an ideal choice here, providing  'un petit clin d'oeil' to the frothy milk topping of a traditional mocha or cappucino. This allusion was echoed by a light dusting of cocoa powder, and, as a final decorative touch, a scattering of  coffee beans, ensuring my classmates would make it through to at least the end of the first hour! I also used some stencils that I have for decorated the top of coffees in order to add some flair to some of the cakes

My cocoa stencilling can be seen in the background

These mocha cupcakes also provided me with the perfect occasion to use my adorable 'cupcake-in-a-cup' moulds, re-useable silicon cases which came in a set of four complete with little saucers. Like many of my most treasured items of cupcake paraphenalia, these were sourced from the amazing home-wares emporium 'Plenty' in Bondi Junction (also the main supplier of all the pretty serviettes that I often feature in photos).An alternative way of presenting these cupcakes would be to remove them from their paper cases and place each little cake in a small espresso cup before frosting with ganache or cream and serving with a spoon to plunge into the cocoa centres...

An example of presenting mocha cupcakes 'disguised' as mini cappucinos, perfect for die-hard caffeine addicts or anyone seeking to embody the joys of cafe culture in cupcake form

For those inspired to create their own mouth-watering mocha cupcakes, here is the recipe I used:
100g quality dark chocolate
165g soft butter
1/4 cup of coffee liquor (any that you fancy)
2 tablespoons of instant coffee granules
1 1/4 cups of caster sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2/3 cup of water
1 cup plain flour plus 2 tablespoons self-raising flour
1 egg

Preheat oven to 150 degrees fanforced, prepare cupcake tin with paper cases. Melt chocolate, butter, liquor, sugar and coffee over a lowe heat and allow to cool before adding to the dry ingredients. Mix well and spoon into the cases - the mixture will be disconcertingly runny, do not panic! Bake in the oven for an even more disconcerting and lengthy 50 minutes (I have never seen a cupcake recipe with such a long bake-time, but the fluid consistency of the batter calls for this). Leave to cool before decorating, and enjoy!

Bon appetit!

I hope that this post has inspired you as much as Ben's coffee-decoration skills inspired me, and I am looking forward to sharing these little pick-me-ups with my beloved PBL group!
xx
Anne