Cappuccino Heath Cupcakes

These cupcakes are very dense and moist - almost sticky.  After two tries, they still aren't exactly what I wanted for this recipe, but they are delicious.  I'll keep working on that perfect cake and keep you posted; in the meantime, let me know what you think of these!

(print this recipe)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used light brown)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons espresso powder
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup milk


Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tin with 12-18 cupcake liners.
In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.


In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter, sugars and espresso powder and beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until mixture is light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time and mix well.  Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk and beating on low speed until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full.  These cupcakes don't rise into a big top, they tend to spread out over the muffin tin, so don't fill too full. 
Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.  Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.  If the cupcakes spill out over the muffin tin, take a knife and gently push them away from the tin before letting them cool.


For the frosting:
This makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes lightly.  Double the recipe if you like to pipe your frosting on.


1 recipe Perfect Cupcake Frosting
1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder dissolved in 1 1/2 teaspoons hot water (cool to room temp)
1/2 cup (or more) of Hershey's Heath bits (try not to eat the rest, now that they're opened!)
cocoa powder
Omit the vanilla in the frosting recipe and substitute the espresso mixture.
I piped the frosting on with a large (1M) tip.
Sprinkle with Heath bits and dust lightly with cocoa powder