Mocha Meringue Cupcakes

This month's Cupcake Hero theme is coffee. I chose to make Mocha Meringue cupcakes for our big MLK day cocktails, wine & cheese party. They were amazingly yummy! The coffee really added a deep, delicious flavor to the chocolate cupcakes and the meringue frosting was perfectly fluffy and sweet.

Mocha Cupcakes (adapted from Fine Cooking magazine)
Makes 22

10 T very soft unsalted butter
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
7-1/4 oz. (1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons) unbleached all-purpose flour
2-1/2 oz. (1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups coffee, cooled to warm

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pan with cupcake papers.
2. Put butter and sugar in a bowl. Cream until smooth and then mix in eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla and salt. Put in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder all at once, and stir in by hand. Gently whisk in the coffee until the batter is mostly smooth. Pour into cupcake papers and cook until a tester comes out clean (I didn't time it, but maybe 20 minutes?). Cool completely before topping with meringue frosting.

Meringue Topping

Whisk together 1/3 c sugar and 3 eggs in the top of a double boiler until the mixture reaches 110 degrees. Then transfer to a bowl and beat with electric mixer until the eggs for stiff peaks (may take several minutes). Frost the cupcakes with a rubber spatula and make lots of cute peaks and swirls. The brown the meringue with a mini-blowtorch (this step isn't necessary but makes them very cute!)

Finally, be sure to check out all the coffee-flavored cupcakes later this month at quirky cupcake!