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Cappuccino-Flavored Rose Cupcakes look like beautiful roses and taste like coffee! These light and fluffy cupcakes have an espresso flavored layer and a vanilla “foam” layer so they look like a real cappuccino on the inside! The buttercream is rose-colored but tastes like rich espresso, it’s glorious! They’re ready in 35 minutes and taste so good with a Mint Vanilla Iced Coffee for the ultimate coffee pairing!
I ADORE cupcakes! They are perfect for whenever you are craving a treat but don’t have the time to attempt a 3 layer cake. Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes and Mojito cupcakes tastes like drinks and these Mummy Dark Chocolate Cupcakes are simply adorable! They all take about 1 hour to make with everyday pantry staple ingredients!
Ingredients You’ll Need for Cappuccino-Flavored Rose Cupcakes
- Egg whites – Egg whites will give your cupcakes a lighter and fluffier texture. Save the yolks for Custard French Toast or Key Lime Pie.
- Butter and vegetable oil – Butter adds moisture and flavor and the vegetable oil keeps the cupcakes light and fluffy.
- Espresso – You’ll need about 4 tablespoons of espresso to give a cappuccino flavor to the both the cupcake and the buttercream frosting. Buy a double shot of espresso from your local coffee shop or brew it at home!
- Red food coloring – I used a food coloring gel, it’s more potent than regular food coloring so if you’re not using it you might need to add a few more drops to achieve the color you want.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How To Make Cappuccino-Flavored Rose Cupcakes
- Prepare ingredients. Line cupcake tins with paper liners then preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl then measure out buttermilk, egg whites and vanilla into a measuring cup.
- For the cappuccino cupcakes. In a stand-up mixer beat butter, oil and sugar together until light and fluffy. Alternate adding in buttermilk and dry mix to the butter/sugar mixture until everything is combined. Transfer about half of the cupcake batter into a separate bowl, this will be the vanilla flavored batter. To the batter in the mixing bowl, pour in espresso then gently mix until combined.
- Bake. Add 2 tablespoons of the espresso-flavored batter to the bottom of each cupcake liner then top with 1 tablespoon of the vanilla batter. Even out the tops if you don’t want a marbled looking cupcake. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow them to cool completely before frosting.
- For the cappuccino buttercream. In the bowl of a stand-up mixer beat together softened butter, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt until combined. Finally add in the vanilla extract and espresso until incorporated. Add food coloring until it’s your desired shade.
- Decorate. Transfer frosting to a sturdy piping bag to create buttercream roses or frost them anyway you like!
Tips and Tricks
- If you need more help on how to create the buttercream flowers, this Youtube video is super helpful. Here are the supplies I used: Wilton #104 Tip and these Sturdy Piping Bags.
- If you want your cupcakes to look like a cappuccino on the inside: Split the cake batter into two bowls then fold the espresso into one of them. When filling the cupcake liners add the espresso batter on the bottom and the plain vanilla batter to the top to make the “foam”.
- Sift the powdered sugar. Powdered sugar can be very clumpy so it’s always a good idea to sift it before making your frosting so you don’t end up with a lumpy buttercream.
- Cover your mixer when adding in the powdered sugar. Top your stand mixer with a kitchen towel to keep the powdered sugar from flying everywhere and making a mess while your trying to beat it into the frosting.
Recipe FAQs
A mix of both! For white cakes you really want them to be light, airy and flavorful. All butter cakes can sometimes be a bit too dry. And all oil cakes are always missing that butter flavor. The combination of the two of them give the cake the perfect texture and flavor!
Yes, you will have a weaker coffee flavor but it works in a pinch! If you can find espresso powder that would work better!
More Cupcake Recipes
If you tried this Cappuccino-Flavored Rose Cupcakes Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
To Make the Cupcakes:
Line 18 cupcake tins with liners. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large measuring cup, measure out the buttermilk and whisk in the egg whites and vanilla extract.
In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, add the butter, oil and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy about 2 minutes.
Alternating between the buttermilk mixture and the dry mix, add them to the butter mixture, until combined.
Remove 1 1/2 cups of batter and pour that into medium bowl and set aside (this is going to be the vanilla flavored). To the batter in the stand-up mixer, pour in the espresso and mix until just combined, about 15 seconds.
Add two tablespoons of the espresso-flavored cake batter to each of the cupcake liners. And then top each cupcake with a tablespoon of the vanilla-flavored batter. Using a teaspoon, smooth out any messy cupcakes. If they’re a little messy, it’s totally fine—they bake up kind of marbled-looking and it’s great.
Transfer to the oven to bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
To Make the Cappuccino Buttercream:
To the bowl of a stand-up mixer, with the paddle attachment, add the butter, sifted powdered sugar and pinch of salt. Cover the stand-up mixer with a clean kitchen towel and start the mixer. This prevents a bunch of powdered sugar from flying everywhere. Beat until combined, about 1 minute.
Pour in the vanilla extract and espresso; beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the food coloring and adjust to your liking. If you want it more blush rose, add a teeny bit of brown coloring gel.
To Decorate the Cupcakes:
When the cupcakes are completely cool, decorate them how you like. I obviously did roses, but you don’t have to do that! Get creative. Or make it simple.
Tips and Tricks
- If you need more help on how to create the buttercream flowers, this Youtube video is super helpful. Here are the supplies I used: Wilton #104 Tip and these Sturdy Piping Bags.
- If you want your cupcakes to look like a cappuccino on the inside: Split the cake batter into two bowls then fold the espresso into one of them. When filling the cupcake liners add the espresso batter on the bottom and the plain vanilla batter to the top to make the “foam”.
- Sift the powdered sugar. Powdered sugar can be very clumpy so it’s always a good idea to sift it before making your frosting so you don’t end up with a lumpy buttercream.
- Cover your mixer when adding in the powdered sugar. Top your stand mixer with a kitchen towel to keep the powdered sugar from flying everywhere and making a mess while your trying to beat it into the frosting.
Calories: 398kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 94mg | Potassium: 121mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 652IU | Vitamin C: 0.002mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
