Cappuccino Cupcakes

Ingredients

• For the cupcakes:
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup instant espresso
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• For the frosting:
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon white vinegar
• Pinch salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoon nonfat dry milk powder
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

Directions

1. For the cupcakes, stir the milk and espresso powder together in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat until the mixture is steaming. Take it off the heat, whisk until the espresso has completely dissolved, and leave it to cool. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350 degrees F. Using a stand mixer bowl, or a medium mixing bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the butter with the sugar until pale and airy. Add the eggs individually, mixing well after each addition and stopping often to scrape down the bowl. Mix in the vanilla. In another bowl, whisk or sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the batter in alternating additions with the cooled milk mixture, starting and finishing with the dry ingredients. Scrape the bowl well between each addition. If the batter looks a little curdled, don’t fuss; it will bake properly. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers and fill each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate the pans, and bake for 5 minutes more. When a cake tester or paring knife comes out clean, they are done. Watch them closely, because these cupcakes can turn dry if they go too long. Cool completely before adding the frosting.
2. For the frosting, put the egg whites, 3/4 cup sugar, vinegar, and salt in a medium mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Rest the bowl over simmering water, checking that the bottom of the bowl stays above the water. Whisk now and then, until the sugar has dissolved and the whites feel hot. As the whites warm, whisk the milk powder into the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. When the egg white mixture is ready, take the bowl off the heat and beat with an electric handheld mixer, or with the whip attachment on a stand mixer, on the speed just below the top setting. After the mixture turns foamy, stream in the sugar and milk powder mixture without stopping, then increase to the highest speed and whip until the meringue forms stiff peaks. Transfer 1/4 of the meringue to a medium mixing bowl and fold in the espresso powder. Don’t be precious here; deflating the meringue is not a problem.
3. To decorate, use a small offset spatula or a butter knife to spread meringue over each cupcake. Touch a paring knife to the espresso meringue and draw a spiral across the top of each one, then pull through the spiral from the outside toward the center in several places to make a spiderweb design. Serve right away, or store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days.