James Bond cupcakes

Normally I make plans for baking cupcakes at least a few days ahead so I can think about the recipe and decoration. But today I just suddenly wanted to bake some coffee cupcakes. I also wanted to bake some James Bond themed cupcakes for our movie night with friends watching Skyfall. I was wondering how to combine coffee cupcakes with James Bond. Then an idea just popped up. I created the stencil by printing out some bond images on card then used a cutter pen to cut out the parts I wanted to display on the cupcakes. The lines are very fine so it was quite difficult to cut. I was worrying it might not work after all these efforts but OMG! It worked just as what I expected. I just put the stencil on top of the icing, then sprinkled some cocoa powder. When the stencil was removed, Bond was on the cakes haha.

It was a bit messy and ugly with cocoa powder everywhere but I thought the cupcakes looked quite cool.

The cake toppers even have Bond's catch phrase printed :) We ate the cupcakes while watching Skyfall. The movie was just awesome! I know hubby must be secretly hoping he is Bond haha.

Mocha cupcakes with espresso buttercream frosting. I only made half a dozen with Bond and the rest piped with frosting. I think this is the best frosting I've ever done. Consistency was perfect to pipe, firm enough to stand but also soft enough to eat. The cupcakes were quite soft and moist. You can definitely taste coffee in the cupcakes. 

Mocha Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes (I got 12 overflowing cupcakes and some extra batter for one more)

1-1/3 all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup whole milk
½ cup strong brewed coffee (I just bought a cup of brewed coffee at Starbucks)
1½ teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
120g unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature

1. Mix the espresso powder into the brewed coffee until dissolved; set aside to cool to room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a standard-size muffin tin with paper liners.

3. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. Beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined. In a measuring cup, combine the milk, brewed coffee mixture and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture, alternating with the coffee mixture, ending with the flour mixture.

5. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 liners. Baking for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting cupcakes.

Espresso Buttercream Frosting

Makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes

200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons espresso powder

1. Mix the espresso powder into the vanilla until dissolved; set aside.

2. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar a little at a time, waiting until it is mostly incorporated before adding more. Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, scrape the sides of the bowl and increase the speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy, about a minute or two. Add the espresso and vanilla mixture and continue to mix at medium-high until it is completely incorporated, scraping the sides as necessary.

*Note: To make the swirls on the cupcakes, I used a 1M decorating tip.

Recipe adapted from http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/08/13/mocha-cupcakes-with-espresso-buttercream-frosting/