Happy Saturday my friends!! With this recipe I say goodbye to Christmas recipes for this year. I wish I had more time to bake and post more Christmas goodies but maybe next year I start holiday baking just right after Halloween.

These cupcakes are delicious, soft chocolate-espresso mini cakes with a hint of peppermint and they are topped with a delicious vanilla-peppermint whipped cream frosting.

Let’s start with the recipe.

Yield 12 cupcakes but you can double the recipe for a bigger batch.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

½  teaspoon  peppermint extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup hot coffee ( 1 tablespoon instant coffee or espresso +hot water)

For the frosting

1 and 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar (or more if you want it sweeter)

1/2-3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract (more or less to taste)

1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla (this is to mellow the peppermint flavor so is not that strong)

Directions

For the cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 F and lines a cupcake pan with paper liners.

1.- In a bowl mix: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2.- In bowl of a mixer, beat butter for a couple of minutes. Then, add the sugar until fluffy. Add eggs (one by one) mixing well after each addition. Add in vanilla and peppermint extract, mix on medium speed for one minute.

3.- Add one third of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Mix. Add half of the hot coffee mixture and beat for 20 seconds. Add the other third of the dry ingredients. Mix. Add the other half of the hot coffee mixture. Finally, add the last third part of dry ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth and shiny. Batter will be a bit thin.

4.- Pour batter into prepared pan. Fill each cupcake liner just 2/3 full, if you fill them more the batter will overflow. Bake 18-22 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted into a few of the cupcakes comes out clean.

5.- Set the pan on a rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting

1.- Pour the cream in the bowl and beat on low speed until the cream has thickened slightly. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, peppermint extract and continue to mix, increasing the speed to medium-high, until thick.

Note: Add 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract and then add more if you want to. Some people like a strong flavor but others not too much.

2.- Scoop all the frosting into a piping bag and frost the cupcakes. I use Wilton 1 M tip to frost my cupcakes.

3.- These cupcakes should be storage in a container with a lid in the fridge, but bring them to room temperature before serving. You can sprinkle some chopped candy canes before serving.

Enjoy! Merry Christmas!