Instant Espresso Powder Recipes

From chocolate cakes to custards and cookies, instant espresso powder takes your desserts up a notch!

Mini chocolate cupcakes on a plate. — Baking with espresso powder not only adds delicious coffee flavors to your cakes and cupcakes, it also intensifies their chocolate flavors.

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What is instant espresso powder?
Is instant espresso powder the same as ground espresso?
Can I substitute ground espresso for instant espresso powder?
What makes instant espresso powder great?
Instant espresso powder and chocolate:
Can I substitute instant coffee for instant espresso powder?
Here are a few delicious recipes using instant espresso powder:
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What is instant espresso powder?

Instant espresso powder is brewed espresso that has been dried into a powder. That means it's got all the flavor that a shot of espresso has, minus the water. When mixed with a liquid (such as cream, custard, egg whites or cake batter), instant espresso powder releases its flavor into the liquid.

Is instant espresso powder the same as ground espresso?

No, instant espresso powder and ground espresso are two different things. Instant espresso powder is brewed espresso that has been dehydrated. Ground espresso is simply ground roasted coffee beans.

When instant espresso powder gets mixed with hot water, it turns back into a liquid. When ground espresso gets mixed with hot water, it will release flavor into the water but because it consists of hard, ground coffee beans, it will not dissolve.

Can I substitute ground espresso for instant espresso powder?

No. Because ground espresso and instant espresso powder are two different things, you cannot substitute one for the other.

What makes instant espresso powder great?

Instant espresso powder is a magical baking and dessert ingredient. What makes it so great is not only its delicious coffee flavor, but the fact that it is very concentrated AND dry. That means that you can add a nice, strong coffee flavor with just a little bit of powder and, most importantly, without adding any liquid.

For example, you can easily flavor a macaron batter that would be a watery mess if you poured actual coffee or espresso into it. Or you can make an espresso-flavored whipped cream. The powder opens up lots of options.

Instant espresso powder and chocolate:

Even if you're not necessarily after a strong coffee flavor, instant espresso powder can work its magic. That's because it intensifies and enhances chocolate flavors. So whether you have a batter, a glaze, a custard, a ganache or a mousse, adding instant espresso powder will make it better!

Can I substitute instant coffee for instant espresso powder?

No. Instant espresso powder is much more concentrated than instant coffee and has a much stronger, darker and more intense flavor.

Here are a few delicious recipes using instant espresso powder:

Baked Chocolate Cake Donuts with Bourbon Glaze:

Instant espresso powder intensifies the flavors of the dark chocolate Bourbon glaze in these baked Nutella chocolate cake donuts.

Baked Nutella Donuts with Chocolate Bourbon Glaze

These baked, chocolate Bourbon glazed Nutella donuts are moist, delicious and have a hint of hazelnut flavor.

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Two Nutella donuts with chocolate Bourbon glaze on a plate.

Chocolate Espresso Pots de Creme (No-Bake):

Instant espresso powder intensifies the chocolate custard and flavors the whipped cream topping in these pots de creme.

Dark Chocolate Espresso Pots de Creme (No-Bake)

These smooth and creamy, no-bake, dark chocolate espresso pots de creme are topped with espresso-flavored whipped cream and drizzled with a sweet coffee sauce.

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Dark chocolate pot de creme with a spoon.

Chocolate Bourbon Cake:

This chocolate Bourbon cake is made with a coffee-, Bourbon- and chocolate-flavored batter and glaze.

Chocolate Bourbon Cake

This recipe is for a 12-cup Bundt cake pan. (Alternatively, you can also use two 9-inch round cake pans for a layer cake with two layers and fill it with this maple mascarpone frosting or a buttercream filling of your choice. The layers take less time to bake than the bundt cake does, start checking them at about 30 minutes.)

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