Chocolate-Coffee Cupcake with Coffee Buttercream Frosting

Prepare cupcakes:

Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk. Set aside.

In a sauce pan, melt butter together with cocoa powder and coffee on low heat. When smooth, add water. Stir to combine until smooth. Set aside.

In another bowl, sift together flour, sugar and salt. Add the cocoa mixture and egg and mix at low speed (if using a mixer) or a wooden spoon. Add the buttermilk mixture and coffee extract. Beat until smooth.

Pour/scoop batter into muffin tins. The batter is quite thin; you may want to pour it using a measuring cup like I did.

Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

While cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. Cream butter and shortening together until light and fluffy. Add in coffee extract and coffee powder, and beat until combined.

Gradually add powdered sugar, preferably in 1/4 or 1/2-cup increments. Beat until incorporated.

Add in milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is achieved.

Frost cupcakes as desired. I used a 1M star tip and garnished my cupcakes with a few chocolate chips.