Are you a coffee person? I most definitely am! Can I tell you a secret? To be honest I am kind of a bear without it, just ask Chris! Normally I just make a cup in the morning, but on the rare occasions that I buy a cup or go to Starbucks I always get a Caramel Macchiato with an extra shot of espresso so that it won’t be too sweet. Another secret…. I am not a sweets person either! That’s why these are the perfect cupcakes! Sweet, coffee, and caramel without being overpowering!

A light and fluffy coffee flavored cupcake with a velvety caramel filling and a lush coffee swiss meringue buttercream and more caramel drizzled on top!

Ingredients

Coffee: I love using a nice strong coffee to help make the coffee taste stronger,

Butter: This swiss meringue recipe uses unsalted butter so it’s easier to control how much salt gets added in. It is also important to make sure the butter is cut into small pieces and is cool, like in between room temp and cold so that everything mixes together evenly without shocking or curdling the meringue.

Oil: I used vegetable oil but canola or another neutral oil will work too!

Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract is best for these delicious blondies. I like to use my homemade vanilla or mexican vanilla extract, it has an almost caramel, smooth flavor.

Greek Yogurt: You can use sour cream instead if you don’t have greek yogurt. The most important thing is that it is full fat on either option. My preference is full fat greek yogurt.

Leavening: This recipe calls for baking soda and baking powder to make these cupcakes nice and light.

Tips and Problem Solving

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of making your own caramel, thicker store bought caramel like hersheys or smuckers works too.

When making your swiss meringue buttercream you definitely want to make sure that the meringue comes to stiff peaks then slowly add in the butter. It will loosen and become slack. That is ok, you just have to keep whipping it and it will come back together. If it does start looking like it’s curdled you can always put it back on the double boiler and heat it up to help melt it back. Just heat it until it looks like the edges are melting and whip it again. It might take a couple extra minutes but it will come together and then you can add the cooled coffee!