recipe: tiramisu cupcakes

i was home alone today, which after i finished my domestic duties meant it was drink some wine, bake some cupcakes, and listen to some gangster tunes day. i wanted to shrink my favorite Tiramisu Layer Cake recipe from allrecipes.com down to cupcake proportions. i took the long way making layered mini-cakes with 2 different layers of cake and filling... if you wanted a quicker version with same flavor, you could stick to one cake flavor and just inject the filling in the middle.

ingredients list (i made this scaled for 12 cupcakes):
- 1/2 package moist white cake mix (i didn't have any boxed so used this Simple White Cake recipe - it was perfect for 12 cupcakes)
- 1.5 tsp instant coffee powder
- 1/4 cup coffee
- 5 tbsp coffee flavored liquor, divided (i used some Kahlua, some Bailey's)
- 4 oz. marscapone cheese
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, divided
- 1 cup heavy cream


to make:
cake: preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a large 12-cup cupcake tray or prep it with liners. prep cake mix according to directions (whether boxed or from scratch. remember to divide the boxed package in half (along with all ingredients) if you're only making this for 12 which is what the rest of this recipe is based on). divide batter into two bowls, adding the instant coffee powder into one of the bowls. pour batters into the cupcake pan (6 of each batter), and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick test comes out clean. allow to cool. pour 1.5 tbsp coffee liquor into the 1/4 cup coffee, and set aside.


filling: blend marscapone, 1/4 cup confectioners sugar, and 1.5 tbsp coffee liquor in a small bowl until smooth.


icing: mix heavy cream, 1/4 cup confectioners sugar, and 2 tbsp coffee liquor with electric mixer over medium-low speed until stiff.


to assemble: cut the round tops off of the cooled cupcakes (note: all of the cake cutting & frosting will be easier if you freeze the cakes first. just refrigerate the filling/icing if you do this), then cut the cupcakes horizontally in half. drizzle coffee mixture over the tops of all of the cake halves. spread filling over the large bottom halves of the cupcakes, then add the 'top' cupcake layer on top (making sure to use one each of the white cake & coffee flavored cake for each layer). spread icing over all sides of the cakes, and place onto cupcake wrapper. garnish with shaved chocolate, coco powder, or whatever chocolately goodness you desire.


verdict: taste-wise, these were great. total tiramisu goodness, 7.5******~. presentation-wise, they looked like blobs and were a nightmare to ice... not the statuesque mini-cakes i was envisioning. in part, it's because they are SO small. if i was working with a jumbo-sized cupcake and firmer icing, i think they would take shape better. as well... since they are so tiny, having the layers really goes unnoticed - you don't really get a white cake-filling-coffee cake variation when you bite in, it's all there at once. if you just stuck to an all-coffee cake base & injected the filling, i don't think anything would be lost at all for the flavor & you'd save a ton of time. for those aspects, rating is much lower. in the meantime, the remaining cakes may be ugly, but my fridge is full of them and i can't wait to have another tomorrow they are so yummles.