These moody cupcakes are always popular and go great with your morning coffee. The crushed walnuts offer a great texture and the coffee cream cheese icing creates a smooth finish. If you love coffee you will LOVE these!

Ingredients

• 1 cup (120g) walnuts
• 2 tsp instant coffee mixed with 2 Tbsp hot water
• 1/2 cup (125ml) milk
• 110g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
• 1/2 cup (120g) firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup (125g) flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

Syrup (optional)

• 1/4 cup (60g) caster sugar
• 2 tsp instant coffee mixed with 2 Tbsp hot water

To ice & decorate

• 1 batch of coffee cream cheese icing, see this cream cheese icing recipe but omit the vanilla for 2 Tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water.
• 12 walnuts
• 12 broken pieces of dark chocolate
• Drops melted dark chocolate

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake cases.

Toast the walnuts on an oven tray in the oven for 5-10 minutes until golden. Remove and cool.

Once the walnuts are cool, process in a food processor until finely ground.

Combine the coffee and milk in a jug and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together with a beater until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix well, scaping down the sides of the bowl to ensure an even mixture.

Sift the flour and baking powder over the mixture and fold through, followed by the milk and coffee. Finally fold through the walnuts.

Divide the mixture between the cases, filling to at least two-thirds full. Don’t go over three quarters however as they will rise too much and you will get muffin tops!

Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

If using the syrup. Make it while the cupcakes are cooking by dissolving the sugar in the coffee mixture in a saucepan over a low heat.

When the cupcakes are cooking, remove from the oven and brush the tops with the syrup while they are cooling in the trays. Once they have cooled for 10 minutes, transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Once they are completely cool, ice with the coffee cream cheese icing and top with a walnut half. These cupcakes will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes 12

Recipe adapted from Bluebell’s Cakery