Cupcakes that taste like the classic Italian dessert
Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes:
- 1ยผcupscake flour(not self-rising, sifted)
- ยพteaspoonbaking powder
- ยฝteaspooncoarse salt
- ยผcupmilk
- 1vanilla bean(halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved)
- 4tablespoonsunsalted butter(at room temperature, cut into pieces)
- 3whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks(at room temperature)
- 1cupgranulated sugar
For the Coffee-Marsala Syrup:
- 1/3cupplus 1 tablespoon freshly brewed very strong coffee(or espresso)
- 1ouncemarsala wine
- ยผcupgranulated sugar
For the Mascarpone Frosting:
- 1cupheavy cream
- 8ouncesmascarpone cheese(room temperature)
- ยฝcupconfectioners' sugar(sifted)
- Unsweetened cocoa powder(for dusting)
Directions:
- 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 ยฝ 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.
Nutrition:
Calories: 238kcal
Fat: 14g
Saturated fat: 8g
Cholesterol: 65mg
Sodium: 89mg
Potassium: 52mg
Carbohydrates: 24g
Sugar: 17g
Protein: 3g
Vitamin A: 495%
Vitamin C: 0.1%
Calcium: 43%
Iron: 0.2%
this recipe looks wonderful! can you please confirm that it’s written for a regular altitude? thank you very much :)
Hi Xenya, Yes, regular altitude.
I was super exited to try this recipe, but unfortunately was very disappointed after making it. I tried it twice and both times I opened the oven to sunken middles, gummy tops, and a crispy rim. At first a thought I wasn’t careful enough so I retried. After following the recipes perfectly I still came back to the same results. The taste was great, but everything else about the cake was a little sketchy. Frosting and syrup were both great.
On any other day this would have been fine. Unfortunately, I had made these cupcakes the night right before I needed them. I was making them for a very close friend’s fundraiser and not getting them right put lots of stress on me. Sorry for the negativity, but was very disappointed.
I don’t know if this message will go through…but I have to say these cupcakes are amazing! They were a hit! Thanks for sharing. :)
Hi, thanks for sharing the recipe. I just made these and they turned out like sponge cakes. Are they supposed to be that way? Thanks.
Hi Violet, Yes, that’s the correct consistency.
Hey BEB,
This was a GREAT recipe. I made it for school staff and co-workers, and everyone loved it. And so did I! Your directions were great, as always. It would have been great though to have an idea how long to whip the eggs and egg yolks with sugar before they go on the steaming water…
Thanks for the site. I trust it and use it so much!
Eli
Happy bday..:)))) and one more just want to ask is there’s any substitute for marsala wine? Thank you :)
Hi Mitch, Thank you! You could use rum if you’d like.
Man, my cupcakes didn’t rise properly. They came out hard and chewy. I think I either beat the eggs for too long, or didn’t beat them enough. :\
These Tiramisu cupcakes taste exactly like the real thing! I followed the recipe exactly except I used vanilla bean paste instead of the bean. I admit that it was a little more work than I had anticipated but was totally worth it. I have made so many cupcakes from the BEB and they ALWAYS deliver; this is my go-to site whenever I want to make something new. Michelle you actually test your recipes unlike so many books and food channel sites. I’ve made the Kentucky Derby Pie Cupcakes, Red Velvet, Limoncello, Dark chocolate w/ Sunbutter frosting, and now Tiramisu – all with great success! Thanks again for sharing this great cupcake recipe.
Hiii can i replace mascarpone with cream cheese? And what amounts should it be? In my country we dont have mascarpone
Hi Erika, I think that should work okay; I would use the same amount.
Oh my Goddess.. These look divine! Cannot wait to make these!
I love these cupcakes! It’s an ingenious idea to make cupcakes out of an amazing dessert. The only thing I will modify next time is the actual cake recipe. I totally get wanting to have a spongecake for the base, but it’s too thick to absorb all the coffee liquid (it’s not a ladyfinger!), and is dry as a result. I will bake a more moist cupcake base next time and I think it will be perfect.
Note: This recipe only yielded 13 standard-sized cupcakes for me and baking them for 20 (even 18) minutes was way too much; I would recommend checking the doneness after 14 or 15 minutes while baking only a dozen. Next time I might try closer to 300 degrees in the oven as well since maybe the custard batter is a bit more delicate. After spending all that time making the batter it’s a bummer when they come out tough and overbaked :( Absolutely delicious recipe, though, and I will certainly try it again soon!
One suggestion for these cupcakes- spray the muffin liners with cooking spray to help them release when eating. They will stick a bit otherwise. Also I found this recipe yielded 21 cupcakes. I also used more mascarpone cheese than the 8 oz because I like to have a good amount of frosting for my cupcakes.
Those looks beautiful, i always make tiramisu cake or minis for vday