Tiramisu Cupcakes

One of my most favorite desserts ever is Tiramisu. There's something about the combination of sponge cake and velvety mascarpone cream filling that is irresistible to me. Throw in some chocolate and a hint of coffee, and I'm in heaven.

When I saw that the Cupcake Hero's challenge this month was coffee, I decided to try turning this classic Italian dessert into a cupcake.

To get started with the base, I adapted the tiramisu sponge cake recipe from a Williams Sonoma Desserts cookbook. Instead of baking in a spring form pan, I filled 18 cupcake liners. You really have to watch these in the oven as the batter is so airy, it takes a very short time to bake. Once the cupcakes have baked and cooled, I made some slits in the tops with a knife and then brushed them with a sweetened espresso syrup. The final component is the mascarpone cream that I filled inside the cupcakes as well as on top. Dust them with cocoa powder, and a few chocolate shavings, and it's all set! These were so tasty and just as good as their full-sized counterparts. Yum!

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Sponge Cake
1 cup (4 1/2 oz / 140 g) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, at room temperature
2/3 (4 2/3 oz / 145 g) sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with 18 liners. I sprayed the liners with nonstick spray. (I don't know if that's necessary, but the cake didn't stick in the end so it worked)

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until blended.  In a large bowl, using a mixer on medium-high speed, beat the eggs until pale and thick (about 3 min). Add the sugar and vanilla and continue beating until very thick and tripled in volume (about 3 min more). Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients, and using a rubber spatula, fold gently until blended.

Fill the liners with the batter and baking until a toothpick inserted in the cakes comes out clean. Mine only took around 15 minutes. Let the cake cool completely

Syrup
1/2 cup (4 fl oz / 125 ml) water
1/3 cup (2 1/3 oz / 70 g) sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

Combine the water and the sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves.Bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Stir in the rum and espresso powder. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Make slits in tops of cupcakes with a sharp knife and then brush on the espresso syrup.

Filling
8 oz mascarpone
scant 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon marsala
1/2 cup heavy cream, chilled

Beat together the mascarpone, confectioner’s sugar and marsala in a mixer until well blended. Add the cream for around another 1-2 minutes until it is fluffy.

Using a pastry bag with the filling mixture, insert the tip in the cupcake to squeeze a small amount. Then frost the tops of the cupcakes with the mixture. Sprinkle cocoa powder and chocolate shavings.