Day 309 – Tiramisu Cupcakes

Now, admittedly, we’ve had a few Tiramisu Cupcakes.  But I can honestly say that they’ve all been a little different.  These Tiramisu Cupcakes (recipe below from Brown Eyed Baker), for example.  A hint of Marsala wine sets them apart from the others.  (It also meant that these are tasted and judged by my guest taster aka my hubby.)

    

The cupcakes are similar to a pound cake. Kind of light, and a little chewier around the edges. It looked lighter than it was. It’s a straight across vanilla cupcake.

The frosting is a thick, borderline chunky, whipped cream. Mascarpone doesn’t get quite as smooth texture-wise as cream cheese does. But it’s super rich and creamy.

    

The coffee trumps the Marsala, but the umami (meaning: a pleasant savory taste) of the Marsala is still present.  It’s a more rounded coffee presence and I like it a lot.  The minis get more of the glaze with the same number of swipes, so the flavor is more present.  The standard cupcakes lack the same intensity and need it.  This is essentially a vanilla cupcake with a very rich frosting.  The cupcake cannot compete with the richness of the frosting without the richness of the glaze.  So extra glaze on the big ones or make holes in the cupcake for quicker and more complete absorption.

Scoring Sheet:

• Cupcake Taste: 3

• Frosting Taste: 3.5

• Overall Taste: 4

• Appearance: 4
• Ease of Making: 3.5 (lots of different parts and a fair amount of waiting)
• TOTAL: 18

RECIPE

Tiramisu Cupcakes (recipe from Brown Eyed Baker)

Cupcakes:

• 1¼ cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon coarse salt
• ¼ cup 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 granulated sugar

Coffee-Marsala Syrup:

• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly brewed very strong coffee (or espresso)
• 1 ounce marsala wine
• ¼ cup granulated sugar

Mascarpone Frosting:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

For directions visit Brown Eyed Baker.

*Tomorrow: Avocado Cupcakes*