Mocha Brownies with Café Latte Frosting
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These mocha brownies are rich and fudgy with a delicious hint of coffee. Top them with café latte frosting for a super decadent brownie, or skip the frosting and fill them with chocolate chips. Either way – these mocha brownies are perfect for coffee lovers.
**This post was originally published November 3rd, 2016 and updated April 29, 2024**
These mocha brownies are brought to you by my two life savers: coffee & chocolate. The brownies are super fudgy with a chocolate flavor that’s not too sweet. There’s just a hit of coffee in the batter that pairs with the rich chocolate to give them the perfect mocha flavor. Then they’re topped with fluffy, creamy, coffee frosting and a sprinkle of cocoa for decoration. They’re the perfect grown-up brownie recipe. Because after all – what could be better than coffee and chocolate and brownies?
For the Mocha Brownies
Now when it comes to making brownies, there’s 2 general categories: brownies made with cocoa and brownies made with melted chocolate. (Or ok – sometimes brownies made with both cocoa and melted chocolate for those of us that are more bipartisan).
For these coffee brownies, we’re using melted dark chocolate because it produces the fudgiest texture and I find that dark chocolate pairs best with the coffee flavor. I recommend using somewhere between 60% – 75% dark chocolate.
To make the brownies:
- Start by preheating the oven to 350F (180C) and lining your 8×8 inch pan with baking paper so that there’s an overhang around the edges.
- I always line my pan, because then I can easily lift the baked and cooled brownies out of the pan after they’re done baking. I prefer to use parchment paper over aluminum foil, because I find that aluminum foil can stick to the brownies.
- Add the finely chopped chocolate, butter, and instant coffee powder to a large bowl. Then melt the ingredients together – ether in a double boiler over low heat or in the microwave using short 45-second intervals on medium power.
- Be sure that the chocolate is finely chopped for easier melting.
- It’s important to melt the chocolate and butter together very gently and slowly – this prevents the chocolate becoming grainy.
- After the chocolate and butter are fully melted, let the mixture cool slightly. Then whisk in the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract.
- Add in the flour and salt, then gently whisk them into the batter. Alternatively, you can fold in the flour using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
- Then pour the batter into the prepared pan and pop the brownies into the oven to bake. Brownie bake times definitely vary depending on how gooey you like your brownies – this recipe will be between 24-28 minutes. If you’re planning to frost the brownies, then I’d bake them closer to the 28 minute mark because I find that frosted brownies shouldn’t be quite as gooey.
The coffee flavor in our brownies comes from instant coffee powder. 1 tablespoon in fact. The smaller the granules of your instant coffee, the easier it’ll dissolve in your melted chocolate. I found Starbucks instant coffee worked best.
For the Coffee Frosting
Oh my, I could eat this by the spoonful. It’s thick and creamy with the perfect coffee flavor. You’ll first dissolve a little instant coffee into a little hot water. Make sure it’s fully cooled before moving on (you can pop this in the fridge to speed up the process).
Then you’ll beat together butter and powdered sugar along with a little salt and vanilla, and mix in the instant coffee dissolved in water. If needed, you can beat in a little creamy for extra creamy frosting.
A Note About Instant Coffee Powder
Both the brownie and the frosting recipe are developed using instant coffee powder. I highly recommend using an instant coffee that has very small granules (I used Starbucks – this in not a sponsored post). The smaller the granules, the more easily it will dissolve – which is especially important for the frosting. You can see the difference below. 
Do not (I repeat, DO NOT) use regular coffee granules here. They won’t dissolve so you won’t get the coffee flavor needed.
So to recap…. These Coffee Brownies are:
- fudgy
- coffee-infused
- and the frosting is like the foam on the top of your latte.
And if you love coffee & chocolate – don’t forget to try these mocha cupcakes or cappuccino chocolate chip muffins.
Mocha Brownies with Cafe Latte Frosting
Equipment
- 8x8 inch (20x20 cm) pan
Ingredients
For the Mocha Brownies
- 5.5 oz dark chocolate (155 grams) , finely chopped (60% - 75% cocoa)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (112 grams)
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (84 grams) , spooned & leveled
For the Cafe Latte Buttercream
- 1-2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
- 1 tablespoon boiling water
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (112 grams) , softened to room temperature
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar (165-220 grams) , sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon whipping cream , if needed
Instructions
Mocha Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper so there's an overhang around the edges. Or line with aluminum foil and lightly grease.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the chopped chocolate, butter and instant coffee. Microwave for 45-second intervals on medium power, stirring between each interval until melted. Alternatively, melt in a double boiler over low heat.
- Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then whisk in the sugar, whisked eggs and vanilla extract.
- Carefully mix in the flour and salt.
- Pour/spoon the batter into your prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake in the preheated oven for about 23-28 minutes, or until the top is set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist brownie crumbs.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack before frosting.
Cafe Latte Frosting
- Add the instant coffee to the boiling water. Whisk together with a fork to help dissolve the coffee. Cool fully - you can place the mixture in the fridge to speed up the process.
- In a large bowl using a stand or hand-held electric mixer beat the butter for about 1 minute to soften. Turn the mixer down to low speed and beat in 1 cup powdered sugar, along with the vanilla and salt.
- Beat in the instant coffee dissolved in water. Make sure that the water isn't warm - otherwise it will melt the butter.
- Beat in the rest of the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time, until the desired sweetness and consistency is reached. If needed, beat in 1 tablespoon of cream.
- Remove the brownies from the pan using the overhang of the parchment paper. Place on a cutting board. Frost the brownies using a flat-edge knife (be sure the brownies are fully cooled). Slice using a sharp knife.
Notes
- Instant Coffee: I recommend choosing an instant coffee powder that has very fine granules. You can substitute instant coffee with instant espresso powder. Use 2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder in the brownie batter and 1-2 teaspoons in the frosting.
- Chocolate: I recommend using between 50-70% dark chocolate. Semi-sweet chocolate works too.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 brownie with frosting, assuming the pan is sliced into 12 uniform brownies.
- Storage: Store brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Unfrosted brownies can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before frosting.
Very good brownies. I was a little hesitant when they came out of the oven, because the top was peeling off. I didn’t even get to ice these until 3 days later because I had too much going on. They were still moist and delicious.