Cardamom Espresso Cupcakes
These Cardamom Espresso Cupcakes were inspired by a limited edition drink from Starbucks that I absolutely adore – The Cardamom Latte! These cupcakes feature a brightly flavored and moist cupcake that is heavily infused with the warm, citrusy, and slightly spicy spice that is cardamom! The Cardamom Cupcakes are then topped with an espresso infused buttercream, giving that ‘latte’ element to the cupcakes!
Cardamom Flavor
Cardamom has to be in my top 3 spices. I absolutely love its ability to add a beautiful warmth and slight spiciness to whatever its added to, while simultaneously adding unexpected bright citrus and floral notes as well! In these Cardamom Espresso Cupcakes, I wanted all of cardamoms notes to be distinctive, but I really wanted to play up the spicy, warm notes that is has. The addition of espresso in the buttercream really compliments these notes in the Cardamom Cupcakes, bringing them to the forefront.
Making Perfect Buttercream
A question I get asked a lot, by family and friends, is how to make a perfect buttercream! To me, the perfect buttercream should be fluffy, balanced in sweetness, and creamy! To achieve this, it all starts with the right ingredients and method.
Ingredients
First, you need butter. The butter should be at room temperature. This term, room temperature, confuses people though. Room temperature butter does not mean butter than is exceptionally soft, barely holding its own shape. Room temperature butter should be soft enough that it makes an indent when touched, but not so soft that it looks greasy. The reason that the butter needs to be at the proper temperature is because proper room-temperature butter is whippable, meaning that the process of whipping it allows little air bubbles to be trapped between the fat, leading to a soft, fluffy texture. The ideal room temperature for room-temp butter is abut 69°F. Now, this doesn’t mean that you need to pump your AC up or turn your furnace down, just keep an eye on the butter and if it becomes a little too soft, just throw it in the fridge for a bit to harden up slightly.
Next, you need sugar. In my opinion, confectioners sugar is the way to go, for perfect buttercream. The main reason behind this is due to the texture it creates. Its fine, powdered texture allows it to easily dissolve into the butter, leaving behind a smooth and uniform texture!
Lastly, you may need heavy cream. If you find you added too much sugar, and that your frosting is therefore thick, a little bit of heavy cream can be used to loosen it up a bit and bring back that creamy texture. I don’t think heavy cream is a necessity all the time, and I usually just use it accordingly. It is important to note, however, that you shouldn’t use overly cold heavy cream. Right out of the fridge cream can cause the butter to harden, which can lead to the buttercream breaking. Furthermore, I always like to use cream vs milk, because of creams fat content. Buttercream is essentially an emulsion of fat and water, and therefore if you add to much water (in the form of milk), it can throw the balance of things off, and lead to a broken buttercream.
Method
The method for making buttercream is actually quite straightforward. First, you need to add the room-temp butter to a stand mixer than is fitted with the whip attachment. Turn the stand mixer on medium-high, then beat the butter until it looks fluffy, pale, and has tripled in volume, about 3-5 minutes. This is the aeration process that is crucial to creating that fluffy final texture. Next add in the sifted confectioners sugar. Sifting the sugar is important because it removes any unwanted lumps of sugar. Beat the sugar and the butter together for about another minutes, or until the buttercream looks smooth, fluffy, and uniform. After this, you had add heavy cream to loosen it up a bit, or add in any of the flavors you’d like, such as the espresso in these Cardamom Espresso Cupcakes.
Making the Cardamom Cupcakes
1.Beat eggs and sugar: Add the eggs, vanilla, and the sugar to your stand mixer, then beat the three together for about 3-4 minutes. By the end, it should be fluffy, and be tripled in volume.
2. Add oil: Turn the stand mixer down to medium speed, then slowly drizzle the oil into the stand mixer while it continues to beat. After all the oil has been added, beat the mixture for another 30 seconds.
3. Whisk together the dry ingredients: In a separate mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt, then whisk them together to combine.
4. Alternate add the dry & wet to stand mixer: First add the 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then beat until just combined. Add ½ of the sour cream, and beat until just combined. Continue adding the wet & dry in this order, until all of the ingredients have been added (you’ll finish with the dry).
5. Add to cupcake pan & bake: Pour the Cardamom Cupcake batter into 2 prepared cupcake pans (18 cupcakes total), then place into the oven to bake! When done, allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing.
Get the Recipe: Cardamom Espresso Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cardamom Cupcakes
- 2 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour,, measured correctly †
- 1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Cardamom
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 ½ cup Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Full-Fat Sour Cream
Espresso Buttercream
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter,, at room temperature
- 4 cups Confectioners Sugar,, sifted
- 2-3 tbsp Fresh Espresso,, cooled slightly
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
Cardamom Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F, and prepare 2 cupcake pans with 18 liners. In a medium to large sized mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt, then whisk together to combine.
- In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat on high for around 5 minutes, the mixture should look thick, fluffy, and be tripled in volume. Then, slowly drizzle in the oil. After all the oil has been added, beat for an additional minute.
- On low, add the dry mixture to the stand mixer in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream in between. Beat only until the batter becomes smooth. Add the batter to the cupcake liners, filling them each to be about 2/3 full. Bake in the oven for around 18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Espresso Buttercream
- Add butter to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high until butter is doubled in volume, and looks light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
- Turn the stand mixer to low and slowly add the confectioners sugar and salt. Beat on medium until completely incorporated and smooth.
- Add in the espresso. Beat until well-combined and fully incorporated, then add to a piping bag to pipe onto cupcakes.
