These Cupcakes Take The Cake!

  

 

 

My husband and I recently celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary and this feat called for a dessert worthy of such a celebration.  For as long as I've known him, my husband's favourite dessert has been Tiramisu.  We have some great Italian restaurants in our city that make fabulous Tiramisu, but this year I decided to make a version of my own.  Making an entire pan of this decadent treat seemed a bit daunting so I opted to bake it on a smaller scale. 

 

 

 Below is the recipe I used. It's a combination of three that I found while perusing my recipe books at home and online.   I will say that this recipe is quite involved and takes some time, but for me it was a labour of love.   It does make an impressive cupcake worthy of any celebration. 

 

 

 Lovin' from the oven at its best!     

 

 

 

 

 

You Will Need:

 

For The Cupcakes:

 

1 box of White Cake Mix

2 egg whites

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

3/4 cup buttermilk *see below for my homemade version

3/4 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup strongly brewed coffee

 

*To make buttermilk:

 Place a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.

 Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line. Let stand for five minutes, then use as much as the recipe calls for.

 

 

For The Filling:

 

8 oz mascarpone cheese

1 tablespoon strong coffee

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

 

For the Mascarpone Frosting:

 

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces mascarpone cheese at room temperature

½ cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

Cocoa powder, for dusting

Shaved chocolate for topping

 

 To Make:

•  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pan with cupcake liners.
•  Sift cake mix into a small bowl and set aside.
•  In a large bowl, gently whisk egg whites, egg, oil, buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla.
•  Stir cake mix into wet ingredients.
•  Using half of the batter, fill cupcake liners about 1/3 full.
•  With the remaining cake batter, add the strong coffee and mix. (You may need to add 1 or 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken the batter.)
•  Scoop the coffee cake batter over the regular batter so that each cupcake liner is filled about 3/4. (So you have one layer of vanilla cake and a top layer of coffee cake.)
•  Bake for 16-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
• Let cupcakes cool completely.

For filling: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl using a spoon.

To assemble:  cut a cone shaped piece of cake out the top of each cupcake.  I use the wide end of a large icing tip to do so. Make sure cakes are completely cooled before doing so. Generously spoon your filling into holes.

Pipe your frosting over the hole with the filling and the entire surface of your cupcake.  Top with chocolate shavings and dust with cocoa powder.  Refrigerate until set.

We even had a wonderful waiter!