The Urban Professional Cupcake

What kind of cupcake does the Urban Professional eat? Why this delicious chocolate one made with Peet's coffee and buttermilk! Based on my grandma's Devil's Food cake recipe, this recipe transformed beautifully into a moist gooey cupcake- worthy of any briefcase carrying commuter.

I was initially inspired by these tiny figures, commuters dressed in gray suits and with briefcase in hand. I knew there was a cupcake out there for them. And then a reader emailed me for a moist chocolate cupcake recipe and I recalled my grandma's Devil's food cake which included a strong cup of coffee with rich buttermilk. Just what the Urban Professional ordered!

The recipe starts with sifting the dry ingredients into a mountain of flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

Then adding in the buttermilk and oil and a cup of Peet's Major Dickason's Blend.

The batter is very thin and runny...but tastes delicious. I literally poured it using a glass measure into the muffin cups. Be sure not to overfill these cupcakes! And into the oven they went until baked.

The shiny gooey frosting can be a bit tricky but starts with sugar, cocoa powder, evaporated milk and butter. Melt away in a saucepan.

Bring to a rolling boil for 1 minute until it hits a soft ball stage.

I test this by dropping a bit into a glass of cold water and look for "soft balling" as taught to me by my grandma. My grandma takes her frosting a bit farther and it hardens into a fudge-like state. I prefer the shiny frosting.

The vanilla was stirred in and I actually dipped the cupcakes into the frosting to coat the surface. It worked beautifully to give each one a shiny coating of frosting.

The results were both stunning and delicious. The gooey frosting and moist cupcakes were decadent.

The Urban Professional Cupcake Recipe courtesy of my Grandma A:

2 cups flour
1 and 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp baking soda
2/3 cup oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup Peet's Major Dickason's coffee
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Sift dry ingredients. Add in oil and buttermilk and stir. Add hot coffee and mix well. Stir in vanilla. Pour into lined muffin cups- about 2/3 full. Bake about 18-20 min until done. Cupcakes will be dark in color but toothpick should come out clean. Let cool on a rack and remove.

One Minute Frosting:

3 Tbsp cocoa
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter- cut into a few pieces
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Combine everything except vanilla. Stirring often, bring to a rolling boil. After about 1 minute, drop a bit into a glass of cold water to check for soft ball stage. Once reached, remove and stir vanilla. Dip cooled cupcakes into frosting and let set.