Mocha cupcakes

Recipe

• Mocha Swiss meringue buttercream

• Chocolate cake - Liv for cake (made 18 cupcakes)
  

Topped with a chocolate covered espresso bean

How it turned out

I am a coffee lover, so I would have preferred slightly more coffee flavour in the sponge. But overall I think it turned out great. I especially loved that I could put both the buttercream and the cupcakes in the freezer until I needed them.

What I learned

Practice the piping technique. I learned a piping technique that works for me. Dab a bit in the middle, then start on the outside and slowly work your way in and up. It was helpful to practice a few times on parchment, and then just scoop the buttercream back into the piping bag.

Use a wider piping tip. The tips I had at the time were a bit too small, and didn't cover much surface area. I've since bought larger ones, and will use them next time for a cleaner look.

Fill the cupcakes a little more than halfway. I filled the cupcake wrapper about 3/4 of the way with batter. They grew too much in the oven. Instead of having a nice round shape to pipe on, some of them overflowed and were lopsided. The ideal cupcake has a soft round dome, just slightly over the top of the wrapper. I think I can achieve that by filling them just barely over half-way.