Tiramisu Cupcakes

Today we ring in the big 3-1. No longer am we merely 30, but we are in our 30’s. So weird, especially since we still don’t feel too much like a grown up ;-) And as we like to do every year, we baked something new and different to celebrate with. It sort of reminds us of being a kid when you’d bring treats to school to share with the class on your birthday (did anyone else do this?). This is us bringing treats in for the class and sharing with all of you :) Since today we are en route to a Florida vacation with our Chief Culinary Consultant (woo!), we baked up our birthday treat earlier this week. Almost without fail, we always make some sort of cheesecake for our birthday (the Oreo Cheesecake and Peanut Butter-Fudge Cheesecake being our favorites), but this year we decided to try something different, and wow! So glad we did!

Next to cheesecake, tiramisu is one of our all-time favorite desserts. When we were younger, if we wasn’t going to the Olive Garden for the Andes mints, we were going for the tiramisu. We first made a from-scratch tiramisu a few years ago, and we were totally hooked. We don’t make it often (it’s such a decadent/special occasion type of dessert), but when we saw these cupcakes we thought they were the reliable way to get the tiramisu flavor we love without making an entire pan. Plus, everyone loves cupcakes nowadays, right?? And now we are on an official boozy cupcake kick!

These cupcakes are absolutely, insanely rich and taste just like tiramisu! We were wondering how much the authentic flavor would come through, but it totally does. The vanilla bean cakes are brushed over and over, and over, with an espresso and marsala wine mixture so that it soaks through the cupcake. Then they’re topped with a mascarpone cheese frosting and dusted with cocoa powder. Happy birthday to us, for sure!

One year ago: Peanut Butter-Fudge Cheesecake
Three years ago: Caramel-Topped Flan
Four years ago: Oreo Cheesecake

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Yield: 18 cupcakes Cupcakes that taste like the classic Italian dessert

For the Cupcakes:

• 1¼ cups (156.25 g) cake flour, not self-rising, sifted
• ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) baking powder
• ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) coarse salt
• ¼ cup (61 ml) milk
• 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
• 3 whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

For the Coffee-Marsala Syrup:

• ⅓ cup (79 ml) plus 1 tablespoon freshly brewed strong coffee, or espresso
• 1 ounce (28.35 ml) marsala wine
• ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar

For the Mascarpone Frosting:

• 1 cup (238 ml) heavy cream
• 8 ounces (226.8 g) mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• ½ cup (60 g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

• 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Heat milk and vanilla-bean pod and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat just until bubbles appear around the edge. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter until melted, and let stand 15 minutes. Strain milk mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, and discard vanilla-bean pod.
• 2. With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk together whole eggs, yolks, and sugar. Set mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water, and whisk by hand until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm, about 6 minutes. Remove bowl from heat. With an electric mixer on high speed, whisk until mixture is fluffy, pale yellow, and thick enough to hold a ribbon on the surface for several seconds when whisk is lifted.
• 3. Gently but thoroughly fold flour mixture into the egg mixture in three batches; stir ½ cup batter into the strained milk mixture to thicken, then fold milk mixture into the remaining batter until just combined.
• 4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until centers are completely set and edges are light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
• 5. Make the syrup: Stir together coffee, marsala, and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Let cool.
• 6. Brush tops of cupcakes evenly with coffee-marsala syrup; repeat until all syrup has been used. Allow cupcakes to absorb liquid 30 minutes.
• 7. Make frosting: With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat, or cream will be grainy). In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Use immediately.
• 8. To finish, Dollop frosting onto cupcakes; refrigerate up to overnight in airtight containers. Dust generously with cocoa powder just before serving.

• Yield: 18 cupcakes
• Prep: 40 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 1 hour

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

• 1¼ cups ( 156.25 g ) cake flour, not self-rising, sifted
• ¾ teaspoon ( 0.75 teaspoon ) baking powder
• ½ teaspoon ( 0.5 teaspoon ) coarse salt
• ¼ cup ( 61 ml ) milk
• 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
• 3 whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 cup ( 200 g ) granulated sugar

For the Coffee-Marsala Syrup:

• ⅓ cup ( 79 ml ) plus 1 tablespoon freshly brewed strong coffee, or espresso
• 1 ounce ( 28.35 ml ) marsala wine
• ¼ cup ( 50 g ) granulated sugar

For the Mascarpone Frosting:

• 1 cup ( 238 ml ) heavy cream
• 8 ounces ( 226.8 g ) mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• ½ cup ( 60 g ) confectioners' sugar, sifted
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Method

1. 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Heat milk and vanilla-bean pod and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat just until bubbles appear around the edge. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter until melted, and let stand 15 minutes. Strain milk mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, and discard vanilla-bean pod.
2. 2. With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk together whole eggs, yolks, and sugar. Set mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water, and whisk by hand until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm, about 6 minutes. Remove bowl from heat. With an electric mixer on high speed, whisk until mixture is fluffy, pale yellow, and thick enough to hold a ribbon on the surface for several seconds when whisk is lifted.
3. 3. Gently but thoroughly fold flour mixture into the egg mixture in three batches; stir ½ cup batter into the strained milk mixture to thicken, then fold milk mixture into the remaining batter until just combined.
4. 4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until centers are completely set and edges are light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
5. 5. Make the syrup: Stir together coffee, marsala, and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Let cool.
6. 6. Brush tops of cupcakes evenly with coffee-marsala syrup; repeat until all syrup has been used. Allow cupcakes to absorb liquid 30 minutes.
7. 7. Make frosting: With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat, or cream will be grainy). In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Use immediately.
8. 8. To finish, Dollop frosting onto cupcakes; refrigerate up to overnight in airtight containers. Dust generously with cocoa powder just before serving.