Cappuccino brownies

To say that I am a cappuccino fan would be an understatement. About a year ago, I exchanged my beloved morning strong black coffees and espressos for this deliciously foamy and yummy Italian morning drink and since, my obsession with cappuccino has kind of gotten out of control. As a result, I wanted to create a cappuccino-flavoured recipe, and it made the perfect inspiration for this recipe for cappuccino brownies.

Coffee and chocolate has long been a favourite pairing in my baking, and while I do love a regular, super chocolatey brownie, the first time I made these espresso-flavoured brownies with a light and airy homemade vanilla buttercream, it was a big hit!

The coffee taste is subtle, though instantly recognisable, ensuring this strong flavour isn’t overpowering and I would definitely still consider this a true chocolate brownie.

This cappuccino brownie’s ‘froth’ is made of a super light and airy vanilla buttercream. It is important you get the texture right, you definitely don’t want this to be too heavy as brownies themselves already tend to be, and the idea is that the buttercream resembles the froth on an actual cappuccino.

The trick here is to add enough whole milk. Use the quantity in my recipe as a guide, though the texture of buttercream is dependant on many factors, including your kitchen temperature, mixing speed and the butter you use.

I love to enjoy these with a, you guessed it, hot and extra-large cappuccino!

Cappuccino Brownies Recipe

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• Author: Michiel Steur
• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
• Yield: 12 1x

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Description

This yummy cappuccino brownies recipe has a subtle espresso coffee taste, is super chocolatey and topped with a light and airy buttercream.

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Ingredients

For the espresso-flavoured brownies:

• 85g dark chocolate 70%
• 190g unsalted butter
• 2 medium eggs
• 250g caster sugar
• 60–80ml strong espresso (depending on preference and strength of your espresso)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 105g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt

For the buttercream:

• 100g soft unsalted butter
• 190g icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon + 1/3 teaspoon whole milk (plus more if required)
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Prepare your favourite strong espresso, you will need approximately 60-80ml of espresso, depending on how strong the coffee you’re using is, and how big of a coffee fan you are! I used one original ‘Palermo’ Nespresso capsule for this recipe. Leave to cool.
3. Chop or break the dark chocolate into small chunks. Add chocolate and unsalted butter to a heat-resistant bowl and melt the chocolate and butter ‘au bain-marie’ over a pot of boiling water. Make sure to continue stirring with a spatula while doing so, and continue until the chocolate and butter are fully melted and combined. Transfer to a cold bowl and leave to cool for a few minutes.
4. Meanwhile, add the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract to a bowl and whisk until thick, white in colour and light and airy. With an electric mixer, this should take approximately 5 minutes.
5. Carefully fold the slightly cooled and melted chocolate and butter mixture and the espresso through the eggs, until fully combined.
6. Mix and combine the flour, cocoa powder and pinch of salt in a bowl. Gradually add to the wet mixture and fold carefully until fully incorporated, making sure not to overmix.
7. Line a baking tin or oven dish with parchment paper and add the brownie batter. Cook in the oven for 40 minutes. Halfway through, after 20 minutes, rotate the oven dish to ensure an even bake. Try and do this as fast as possible, though of course do be careful, to ensure the oven keeps its temperature.
8. After 40 minutes, remove from oven and leave to cool completely inside the dish.
9. Beat the soft unsalted butter with an electric mixer until very pale, light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes.
10. Add half the icing sugar, then continue beating until fully incorporated, smooth and creamy, approximately 3 minutes. Add the remaining icing sugar, milk and vanilla extract and beat until creamy and smooth, another 3 minutes.
11. The result should be super light and creamy, resembling the airy froth on a perfect cappuccino. If needed, add a little more milk to loosen the buttercream mixture.
12. Once the brownie has cooled, spread the buttercream on top and dust with some cocoa powder. Cut into 12 square cappuccino brownies.

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Notes

This recipe requires a 24x14cm oven dish or brownie tin.

• Category: Dessert
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: coffee brownie recipe, cappuccino brownie recipe, espresso brownie recipe, chocolate and coffee baking recipe, brownies with buttercream

More baking recipes on Michiel’s Kitchen:

• Courgette cake
• Coconut macaroons with chocolate and pistachio
• Dutch apple and cinnamon pie