Angel Food Cupcakes with Kahlua Frosting

Recipe for Angel Food Cupcakes with Kahlua Mocha Frosting and Candied Almonds

What was the cake or dessert that you always chose, or still choose, for your birthday or special meal? When I was growing up, my all-time favorite birthday dessert was an Angel Food Cake with a Chocolatey/Kahlua Frosting and then sprinkled all over with candied almonds.

I’ve queried my mom as to the origins of this cake and she doesn’t quite remember the specifics, but did let me in on a little family secret…my mom and grandma, who I’ve held as pillars of the ‘make it from scratch’ movement actually would buy the Angel Food Cake from the grocery store! I’m aghast and that’s just one of those dark little secrets I never needed to hear and yet, will never be able to un-hear.

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With my impending birthday, my tastebuds started tingling for that dessert but with mom out of the country it fell to Kate and I to whip it up. And… because I found these ‘oh so fancy’ cupcake holders a while back and haven’t had an opportunity to use them, my Angel Food Cake quickly morphed into Angel Food Cupcakes.

 Angel Food Cupcakes with Kahlua Mocha Frosting and Candied Almonds

And while mom and grandma used Cool Whip back in the day, that is a food type which I just can’t let past my lips anymore. In fact…if all desserts contained Cool Whip, my weight would never be an issue. Cool Whip and regular M&M’s…they could sit on my counter day in and day out and I wouldn’t be tempted once. But I digress.

For ‘my’ version of ‘my special dessert’ I made a stabilized whipped cream frosting and added Kahlua and cocoa to get that flavor I remember so vividly.

Angel Food Cupcakes with Kahlua Mocha Frosting and Candied Almonds

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Kahlua Mocha Frosting and Candied Almonds dress up Angel Food Cupcakes.

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Ingredients

Angel Food Cupcakes

• 3/4 cups egg whites, at room temperature, from 5-6 large eggs
• 1/2 TBS warm water
• 1/2 cup sifted cake flour, not self-rising, sift before measuring
• 1/2 + 1/8 cup superfine sugar, divided, run your granulated sugar through your food processor if you don't have superfine sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Kahlua Mocha Frosting

• 1 cup heavy cream, cold
• 3 TBS sifted confectioners sugar
• 2 tsp cocoa
• 2 tsp Kahlua
• 1 TBS water
• 1 tsp gelatin

Candied Almonds

• 2 1/2 ounces slivered almonds
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 tsp water

Instructions

For Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 375'
2. Put egg whites and water in a very clean large metal bowl and swirl it over simmering water until barely warm.  
3. Sift together flour and 1/8 cup of sugar. When you think you've sifted enough, sift it one more time.
4. Beat whites in a standing electric mixer on medium speed until frothy. Add vanilla, cream of tartar, and salt.  Increase speed to medium-high and beat just until soft peaks begin to form.
5. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, occasionally scraping down the side of the bowl. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. DO NOT OVERBEAT.
6. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture over the whites.  Beat on low speed until just blended and then sift and beat in the remaining flour in 2 more batches.
7. Gently spoon the batter into liners inside a muffin tin and smooth the tops. Run a spatula or knife through the batter to eliminate any large air bubbles.
8. Bake in the lower third of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, 15-18 minutes. Let cool before frosting

Kahlua Mocha Frosting

1. Adapted from a variety of recipes
2. Place your metal mixing bowl and wire beater in the freezer for a good 30 minutes.  Keep your cream in the refrigerator until you add it to the bowl as well.
3. In a small, microwave-safe bowl mix gelatin and cold water and let it sit until thickened. Zap it in the microwave in 7-10 second intervals until it is liquid and then let it cool.  If it firms up again before you use it, just zap it for 3-5 seconds until it liquifies
4. Mix confectioners sugar and cocoa and set aside.
5. Add confectioners sugar/cocoa mix and cream to chilled mixer bowl and beat until soft peaks form. 
6. With the mixer on, drizzle in the gelatin and the Kahlua. Beat just until stiff peaks form.
7. Keep cool until ready to use.

Candied Almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350'
2. Combine water and sugar and cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved.
3. Add the almonds and stir until well coated
4. Remove from the heat and spread on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes until golden brown

To Assemble Cupcakes

1. Pipe frosting over the cupcakes. I use a ziplock bag with a hole cut in the end for my Wilton 1M Open Star Piping Tip.
2. Sprinkle Candied Almonds
3. Enjoy! Will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days although nuts will get soft towards the end.

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  Wilton 2105-6789 Perfect Results Premium Non-Stick Bakeware Muffin and Cupcake Pan, 12-Cup, STANDARD, Silver
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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 210Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 116mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 11gProtein: 7g

Did you make this recipe?

It would be great if you could take a minute and leave a comment below, as well as how many stars you think it deserves. Help other readers by asking any questions you have or sharing any modifications to the recipe. I'd love to hear how you served it! If you are on Instagram, then tag @nourishandnestle on Instagram and hashtag it #nourishandnestle! Many Thanks

Angel Food cake gets a bad rap in terms of being ‘difficult’ to make, but the cupcake form is much more forgiving…no need to hang the cake over a bottle for any length of time. And then there’s whole challenge of slicing the cake…no need to worry about that with a cupcake either.

That being said…feel free to go the cake route for this dessert…I think you’d just need to double the frosting.

I used a Wilton 1M Open Star Piping Tip to pipe the frosting on the cupcake.

If you think you might want to make this recipe for Angel Food Cupcakes, make sure you bookmark this page or pin it for your future reference.

Looking for another delicious dessert? Check out these individual pavlovas that are SO EASY to make!

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