Mocha Cupcakes with Homemade Coffee Icing

I love coffee as much as the next person, but I can't drink it all too often! So when I stumbled upon this recipe on the HowToEatACupcake blog, I jumped for it. I mean... coffee-flavored cupcakes! That's AWESOME. I like to sample all sorts of coffee-flavored things, so I just had to try these. They could be absolutely delicious or horrendous(like that coffee yogurt I had once UGH!)

I hate coffee as a kid! It was bitter and nasty and it always burnt my tongue. It was only when my dad introduced me to Starbucks that I first fell in love with it. Although, I think if I made these back when I was a little girl, I would have been hooked a whole lot sooner. So here's some mocha cupcakes for you coffee freaks.

Non-edible Materials:

Cupcake tins.
Cupcake papers.

Edible Materials:

1 1/3 cups of all-purpose flour.
1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder.(I used Nestle Tollhouse.)
1 teaspoon of baking powder.
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.
1/4 teaspoon of salt.
1/2 cup of milk.
1/2 cup of brewed coffee.
1 stick of butter, softened.
1/2 cup of granulated sugar.
1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar.
1 large egg.

Time to get messy!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Brew your coffee. When it is finished, pour a 1/2 cup of the coffee into a measuring cup or glass. Allow it to cool to room temperature.
3. While waiting for the coffee to cool, mix together your cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour. Set aside.
4. Beat together the sugar and butter in an electric mixer until fluffy, then add the egg.
5. Add 1/2 cup of milk to the coffee and stir.
6. Slowly add the flour mixture in 3 parts. Between these parts, add the milk+coffee mixture in 2 parts.
7. After everything is combined, line your cupcake tins with foil. Use an icecream scoop to fill each foil half way.
8. Bake the cupcakes for 16-20 minutes. When a toothpick or knife is inserted into the middle and comes out clean, they are done!
9. Let them cool for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack(you don't want to burn yourself!)
10. Let these cool for about an hour. In the mean time...make some icing!

11. To make the icing, cream 1/2 cup of shortening and one stick of butter together. Add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/4 cup of your brewed coffee(or to taste.) Beat in one cup of powdered sugar. Repeat this 3 more times. After all the powdered sugar is mixed in, add 2 tablespoons of milk. Cover and refrigerate the icing until you're ready to decorate.

12. Decorating time! Make a make-shift pastry bag by spooning all of your buttercream into a ziploc bag. Cut off one of the edges and pipe them onto the cupcake. You can smooth it out or leave as is(if you get a nice swirl going, roll with it!)
13. Add a nice sprinkle of cocoa powder on top.
14. CONSUME! <3