Tiramisu Cupcakes

Tiramisu Cupcakes with Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting

 

What would I do without cupcakes?  What would the world do without cupcakes?  We would be forced to create full sized desserts, of course... and where's the fun in that?  Cupcakes are portable, sharable, customizable, easy to decorate and there are no utensils needed to eat them!  If I had to create full sized layer cakes for all of my baking adventures I would be stuck with a giant cake that would sit in my fridge with three slices taken out of it and then be thrown away.  With cupcakes, I can bring some to work, share with friends and keep just as many as I want to keep at home. 

Think about it... if I make a batch of 24 cupcakes, the decorating possibilities are ENDLESS!  I can put filling in some, I can top them with different frostings, different swirling or decorating techniques, and I could even top each of the two dozen cupcakes with a different variety of sprinkle!!  And yes, I do have that many sprinkles...

Don't even get me started on cupcake liners either.... I'm sort of obsessed.  Does anyone else have this problem?  I'm at the store, planning to make a batch of cupcakes, and even though I have a bazillion liners at home already, if I see a pattern that I don't have yet, I HAVE to buy them.  Yes, I HAVE TO.  Sometimes I will even plan a new cupcake flavor or decorating style based on the new liners that I found.  Please tell me I'm not the only one that does this!

These Tiramisu cupcakes are definitely making it onto my permanent rotation of cupcakes creations.  Everyone at the event told me they loved them and the classic Tiramisu dessert translates perfectly into cupcake form, minus the lady fingers, which I don't think anyone missed. 

This cupcake is your basic white cupcake.  The center is removed, soaked in coffee liqueur syrup and stuffed back in with a little bit of frosting inside.  The topping is a Mascarpone Whipped Cream flavored with a little Kahlua as well.  In my recipe I've added an additional option for making a stabilized whipped cream in case you want to make these ahead of time. 

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Adapted from Hummingbird High

Makes 18-24 cupcakes.

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two standard size cupcake tins with liners. 

You can use your favorite white cake mix recipe for this.  I used my "Doctored Up Cake Mix" Recipe..

1 box of white cake mix (get the good stuff)
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup milk

With a handheld mixer or in an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix all ingredients on low for 1 minute.  Turn to medium speed and mix for an additional minute. 

Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full.  Place pans in the center of the oven and once inside, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.  Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. 

Remove from pan and allow them to cool completely on a rack. 


For the Coffee Soaking Syrup:
1 cup strong coffee
5 tbsp Kahlua coffee liqueur
2 tbsp sugar

In a small sauce pan, bring all ingredients to a boil.  Allow the liquid to reduce by half.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. 

For the Mascarpone Frosting and Filling:
16 oz Mascarpone cheese
4 tbsp Kahlua coffee liqueur
1 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
cocoa powder, for dusting

In a large bowl, whisk together the mascarpone cheese and Kahlua until smooth. 

Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer equipped with the whisk attachment,  add the heavy cream and powdered sugar to a chilled bowl and whip on high until medium peaks form. 

Fold the whipped cream carefully into the mascarpone mixture until both are fully incorporated. 


If you are making these cupcakes ahead of time and you do not want your whipped cream frosting to deflate on you, you can stabilize the whipped cream by sprinkling 1/2 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin into a bowl with 2 tablespoons of cold water to soften in.  Scald two tablespoons of heavy cream in the microwave and pour it over the gelatin and water and stir until dissolved.  Refrigerate this mixture for about 15 minutes and then whisk until smooth.  Add this to your whipped cream once it has reached soft peaks and continue to whisk until your medium peaks are achieved. 

To assemble the cupcakes:
Using a cupcake corer or small knife, hollow out the center of the cupcake.  I tried to make this a little larger and deeper than I usually do for my filled cupcakes, because the center will actually go back into this cupcake. 

Place the cupcake cores into a shallow dish or plate and begin to spoon the Coffee Soaking Syrup over the top.  Don't be shy, you want to make sure that they are saturated fully, but not so much as they will crumble and fall apart.  Also, spoon about 1/2 tsp or so of the Coffee Soaking syrup into the empty cavity of each cupcake. 

Using a pastry bag or a ziplock with the corner cut off, fill a small amount of the Mascarpone Frosting into the center of the cupcake and top each one with a coffee soaked core. 

Frost the tops of the cupcakes with the remaining frosting however you like.  Sprinkle with cocoa powder just before serving. 

Store the cupcakes in the fridge.  If you use the STABILIZED whipped cream method, these can keep for about 2 days in the fridge.  Be sure to bring them close to room temperature before serving. 

Enjoy!