White Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes – take two

Friday, January 25, 2008

White Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes – take two

This month’s Cupcake Hero theme is Coffee in honor of host Laurie’s husband Jaos and his upcoming birthday (Happy Birthday Jaos!) I heard that one of their favorite treats at Starbucks is a white chocolate mocha. I already took one shot at a white chocolate mocha cupcake. I wasn’t happy with the white-chocolate-mochaness of it, so here’s my second try.

These cupcakes definitely taste like a white chocolate mocha. The cake is similar to an angel food cake with espresso powder in the batter. They have a subtle coffee flavor. I added some espresso over the top of the cupcakes to keep them moist and intensify the coffee flavor.

The white chocolate mousse didn’t bring enough white chocolate flavor to the table, so I also added a small layer of melted white chocolate. After quite a few different tries, this combination hit the white-chocolate-mocha flavor I was searching for. Hubby and I both couldn’t stop eating them!

Coffee Cupcakes – makes 30 – from Crazy about Cupcakes
12 large egg whites, cold
3 Tbsp espresso, at room temperature
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground espresso beans
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.

In a large bowl combine the egg whites, espresso, lemon juice, cream of tartar, vanilla, and almond extract. With an electric mixer on high speed, beat until mixture is foamy with tiny bubbles, 2-3 minutes. Gradually add 3/4 cup of the sugar until the foam is creamy white. Do not overbeat.

In a separate bowl combin 3/4 cup sugar, flour, ground espresso beans, and salt.

Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Gently mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until completely integrated.

Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.
White Chocolate Mousse – from FoodNetwork.com
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup egg whites (from about 4 eggs)
2 tablespoons sugar

In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat just until it boils.

Immediately turn off the heat. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Strain into another bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove the mixture from the refrigerator and, using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a hand mixer, whip it into fluffy, soft peaks. Return to the refrigerator.

In a clean dry bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form, then add the sugar and continue whipping until glossy and stiff, about 30 seconds more. Fold into the white chocolate mixture.

To assemble cupcakes:
Poke holes into the cupcakes with a fork or toothpick. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of room temperature espresso on top of each cupcake.

Melt 8 ounces of white chocolate in a double boiler. Spread about 1 teaspoon of white chocolate on top of the cupcakes.

Using a small cookie scoop or a piping bag, scoop the mousse on top of the white chocolate.

Garnish with white chocolate curls and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Cupcakes, Dessert

6 comments »

41 Responses to “Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting”

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What's Cookin Stacey?? — August 18, 2009 at 12:41 pm

These sound soo good!!!
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2

oneordinaryday — August 18, 2009 at 12:43 pm

I haven’t conquered my fear of yeast yet, but these look like a yummy way to try to.
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Jigginjessica — August 18, 2009 at 12:50 pm

They look great!
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Stephanie — August 18, 2009 at 2:06 pm

These look like the most delicious thing I could ever eat.
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Jen — August 18, 2009 at 2:07 pm

Yeast is definitely become less and less scarey for me…

Steph – you should so whip these up. They’re not too hard and worth the effort!
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Katie — August 18, 2009 at 2:33 pm

OH MY GOODNESS WOW! This is seriously the BESST idea!! THey look sooooo good!!
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Xiaolu — August 18, 2009 at 2:37 pm

I’m glad you’re starting to conquer your fear of yeast! Those cupcakes are so photogenic. I’m getting hungry just looking at them.
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Cathy — August 18, 2009 at 2:42 pm

what a great idea! They look great!
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nutmegnanny — August 18, 2009 at 3:36 pm

OMG these look awesome! I need one right now:)
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Katrina — August 18, 2009 at 3:49 pm

Awesome!
And I saw on Cake Wrecks that today is National Cupcake Day.
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Erin — August 18, 2009 at 5:12 pm

These look so cute!
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jesstyler — August 18, 2009 at 5:34 pm

oh my gosh! YUM! Hubby LOVES cinnamon rolls. I’ll have to make these for him. He’ll probably eat 1/2 of them in a sitting!
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biz319 — August 18, 2009 at 7:57 pm

My step son would go ape shit over these!!

He loves carrot cake, but no nuts or raisins – and cinnamon is his favorite spice so I made a cinnamon cream cheese frosting that would go perfect with these!!

Thanks for the idea!
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Sunshine — August 18, 2009 at 9:35 pm

I got my jam in the mail today. thank you so much! They were super yummy. I’ll be posting about it in the next couple of days. Rhubarb is my favorite and the vanilla peach bourbon….GENIUS! I’m a follower now. Thanks again.
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Kerstin — August 18, 2009 at 10:19 pm

What a cool idea, they look fabulous – yum!
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Megan — August 18, 2009 at 11:27 pm

Adorable! Love cinnamon rolls and cupcakes… bet these are amazing… and add that cream cheese frosting…yum! I so need these the next time I actually have time to make breakfast! Great job!
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Stephanie Wagner — August 19, 2009 at 12:40 am

These are perfect for the office since they are served in their own paper! Not to mention, they are so cute…
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Ingrid — August 19, 2009 at 5:11 pm

They are SUPER cute! Kudos to you on working out your yeast fears! 🙂
~ingrid
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Sara @ Our Best Bites — August 20, 2009 at 5:01 am

adorable! But not too cute not to eat 😉
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The Food Librarian — August 20, 2009 at 5:10 am

Super cute and beautiful!
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Siobhán — August 20, 2009 at 1:21 pm

Oh wow, these look amazing! I love cinnamon rolls… mmm… Great idea to bake them in cupcake liners! 🙂
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Fuji Mama — August 20, 2009 at 2:03 pm

So glad you liked them!
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Liesl — August 20, 2009 at 2:27 pm

Great idea! They look so cute and delicious!
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Donna @ Way More Homemade — August 20, 2009 at 7:30 pm

What a wonderful alternative to those expensive “bake and give” paper baking molds. THanks for the idea. (found you thru taste spotting.)
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Heavenly Housewife — August 20, 2009 at 8:48 pm

fabulous!! i’m going to bookmark this one!
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bonvivant — August 20, 2009 at 10:30 pm

These are so gorgeous! You’ve given me a great idea to try out for the next batch of cinnamon rolls I’m whipping up! 🙂
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Linsey M. — August 21, 2009 at 12:47 am

those are ADORABLE!!
LOVE THEM!
They would be good for my kid’s teachers!
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Jada — August 21, 2009 at 5:29 am

YUM! Can’t wait to try this recipe and the strawberry basil ones also! Beautiful!
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Swirly — August 21, 2009 at 6:56 am

These are so ridiculously adorable! I bet they taste amazing simply because they’re so cute.
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Peggy — August 21, 2009 at 11:05 am

these look and sound soooo good! I’ll definitely have to try them soon!
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Ashley — August 24, 2009 at 4:09 pm

These are adorable! Can’t wait to try them out 🙂
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grace_mitchell — August 25, 2009 at 7:21 am

Those look AMAZING. I’m definitely gonna try those tomorrow morning. They would go amazing with coffee for breakfast. 🙂

I don’t bake much, but I have some wonderful recipes on my website you should check out.

http://www.nowthatsgood.net

Thanks!
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Pat — August 25, 2009 at 11:27 am

Try using real Cinnamon in your recipe and reduce on the sugar.

The Cinnamon that we buy in the US is actually Cassia.
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Fahrenheit 350° — August 25, 2009 at 7:21 pm

Breakfast? How about, snacks – lunch – and dinner!
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Charisse — August 27, 2009 at 5:40 pm

I totally made these from her website and looved them so much. They were so delicious and smelled so good.
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Jen — August 30, 2009 at 3:32 am

Yep Pat, most of what we use in the US is Cassia. I thank Alton Brown for knowing that little fact. You can find really good cinnamon at spice stores like Penzeys.
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Carol309 — September 9, 2009 at 12:21 am

It’s been twenty years since I’ve baked anything that didn’t come from a box. I had some time today and tried these rolls. Not bad!! They came out pretty and my husband is taking them to work tomorrow. Husband says these are really great.
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Alexandra — December 11, 2009 at 12:46 am

Those are adorable!!! Such an amazing idea I’m making these for my Mommy christmas party! 🙂

Idea for the frosting, try melting it a bit and then dipping the rolls in it. We used to do this at the bakery I worked at really quick way to make them look really professional! I also like the rustic look but it’s a fun way to make your coworkers jealous of your skills!
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Jen — December 11, 2009 at 1:49 am

Great tip Alexandra!
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sara — February 22, 2010 at 12:15 am

These were great – made them last night to serve for a brunch this morning. 15 seconds in the microwave was all they needed to go from good to amazing and gooey. This was also my first time using yeast and now feeling confident. Thanks!
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cakeje van eigen deeg — November 14, 2010 at 9:44 pm

they look so good. I am looking for a good recipe, but the yeast scares me. but I think I will it give it a try soon…