Tiramisu Cupcakes

Tiramisu Cupcakes . . .

Oven Temperature: 325 Degrees

Prep. Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total: 1 hour 20 minutes

Tiramisu is known as a classic and decadent dessert. You are bound to find some "Homemade" version of it at probably any Italian restaurant you go to. Being muslim, I cannot drink alcohol. Therefore, I have never actually gotten to taste tiramisu because it usually has some form of alcohol in it. Now, I know I could have made it myself, but I am the kind of person that likes to make everything from scratch. I didn't really make it if I bought the cookies, bought the coffee, and bought the cream. Right? So, I never made it, because I am weird like that. Now you can only imagine my excitement when I got a request for tiramisu cupcakes. This was coming from an addict, from someone that loved tiramisu, from someone that had tried it in all its forms, and from someone that I looked up to. This meant that they're opinion mattered to me. I had to perfect them, I just had to.

These cupcakes are just jawdroppingly beyond amazing. They are that  good. The cupcakes themselves are fluffy and dense in the weirdest way. They are amazingly moist and have like an almost crispy sweet edging. Combine that with espresso syrup that they are lovingly and delicately brushed with and you have this ridiculous coffee, sugary, cakey concoction. Then you have the frosting. That frosting. Oh. My. God. 

The mascarpone itself is a rich creamy cheese. Now, at $6.00 for 8 oz of it, my frosting had better taste damn good. The frosting is airy, rich, creamy, and slightly sweet. The first bite is different. You want to take another one. You take the second bite, and the frosting hits the crispy edges of the cupcake, the sweetness of the coffee, and the actual crumbs within the cake, and you are just in heaven. Literally. Enough said.

This recipe is pretty straightforward one. However, it is also one that requires extreme attention to detail. I am pretty OCD about details, so the recipe should be easy to follow, and you should get pretty decent results if you follow it word by word. This is definitely a recipe that I would not use substitutions in—unless I stated a specific substitution within the recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Cake

1 1/4 Cups Cake Flour (*See Substitute below)

3/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 Cup Milk

1 tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract or 1 Vanilla Bean Split lengthwise (Scraped)

4 tbsp Unsalted Butter (Cubed and Softened)

3 Whole Eggs AND 3 Egg Yolks

1 Cup Granulated Sugar

Coffee Syrup

1/2 Cup Espresso or DARK Coffee (HOT)

1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

Frosting

1 Cup Heavy Cream

8 oz Mascarpone Cheese

1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar (Sifted)

Decoration

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder for Dusting

*Substitutions

*For 1 1/4 Cups Cake Flour:

Measure 1 Cup Flour and REMOVE 2 tbsp Flour. Add 2 tbsp Cornstarch.

Measure 1/4 Cup Flour and REMOVE 1/2 tbsp Flour . Add 1/2 tbsp Cornstarch.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line your muffin tins with paper liners. This recipe will make exactly 18 cupcakes. After you line the tins, spray the top, that way the cap of the cupcake doesn't stick when the rise during baking. 

Sift your cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a small pot, heat your milk, and vanilla extract (Or Scraping with the pods, you'll have to strain the mixture after though). Heat through, but DON'T boil. When bubbles form around the edges, remove from heat. If you used vanilla beans, remove the pod and strain. If not, skip this step. 

Now, you should set up a double boiler for the next part. Make sure the bowl is large enough to fit all the ingredients as they will expand. In the bowl you are going to use, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, and the sugar. I used an electric mixer for this step. Now, place this bowl over the pot of water. Turn on the heat and allow the water to boil. Make sure to whisk this mixture continuously by hand for about 4-6 minutes. You want the sugar to dissolve and for the mixture to be warm. Remove the bowl from the heat. Now, using an electric mixer, whisk this on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale, and yellow. You want it to be able to hold a ribbon across the surface for a few seconds when the whisk is lifted. 

Next, you are going to fold in the sifted flour mixture. You want to fold it in three separate batches so your batter doesn't deflate. Now, take about a half cup of batter and mix it into the milk mixture in order to thicken the liquid for easy folding. Now fold the milk mixture into the rest of the batter. You just want to combine the ingredients. 

Next, evenly pour the batter into the cupcake tins. As I said before, you should get exactly 18 cupcakes. You want to rotate the pans halfway through baking for even baking. Bake until the edges are light golden brown, which is about 20 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean. Place the cupcake tins on wire racks until they are completely cool. You want to leave the cupcakes to cool completely before removing from the tins. 

To make the syrup, mix in the coffee and sugar and set aside to cool. 

When the cupcakes have cooled, brush the tops with syrup. I take a pastry brush and dip it in the syrup, brush the cupcake, and then repeat for each of the cupcakes. Then you repeat the process until you are out of syrup. This way they have time to absorb, and they are all evenly soaked. They may drip a little, but I assure you this amount of syrup is perfect if you follow these steps. Don't try to just put even tsp's because then they wont absorb it all and they will drip. If you do it like this, they will be perfectly moist. They may drip a little, but these cupcakes are so fluffy, that I guarantee you they will absorb all of it. 

While the cupcakes settle a little, make the frosting. You want to use this frosting immediately  so don't make it until you need it. In a small bowl whisk the whipping cream till stiff peaks form. Don't over whip or it will be grainy. In another bowl, whisk together your mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Now slowly and gently fold in the whipping cream into the mascarpone mixture. 

Using a sandwich or freezer bag, pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Don't dust with cocoa until before serving. If you are not serving till the next day, just wrap and place them in the refrigerator. Allow them to come to room temperature for about an hour before serving. Dust with cocoa powder. Enjoy!