Tiramisu Cupcakes

I'm not a big coffee fan, in fact, I'm not a fan at all. I don't drink it. Ever. If I feel the need for a warm beverage in the morning I go with tea, or hot cocoa. But usually tea because it has less calories. The ladies understand. In my younger days I never wanted to try tiramisu because of my dislike for coffee and anything that tasted like it. As I grew older (and perhaps a little wiser) I decided to give it a go. I mean, it is dessert, and I LOVE dessert. I think the first time I ever tried tiramisu was at Olive Garden and it was almost as delicious as their endless salad and breadsticks... almost.

Needless to say, a younger me wouldn't have been as excited to make tiramisu cupcakes as the current older, wiser version. However, had I read the recipe beforehand my excitement level probably would have decreased. I hadn't anticipated this recipe being so much work. It wasn't that it was hard, there were just a lot of steps, that involved a lot of dishes, that I would have to later wash. And, to be honest, it was hot, I was tired and not in the mood for something too complicated that I could potentially ruin if I wasn't focused. I mustered up all my strength and energy and got to work.

The most time and energy-consuming process was whisking the egg and egg yolks to be fluffy and a little stiff. I knew this was important to not mess up because the cake was supposed to be a sponge cake, light and airy. I whisked the eggs until I thought they were about the right consistency and folded in the rest of the ingredients. The batter was pretty stiff/thick, but fluid enough to pour into the muffin tins (it was also tasty). I filled the tins a little fuller than necessary, not on purpose, but because I couldn't contain the batter flow and some of them turned out a little bigger than I wanted. However, they didn't puff up too much. They turned out to be a pretty flat cupcake.

While the cupcakes cooled I worked on the coffee-marsala syrup. Despite my dislike of coffee I do own a coffee maker and there is a canister of Folgers in the fridge. You never know when company might want coffee. Truthfully, my parents bought the coffee maker as a housewarming gift for themselves, so that when they come to visit they can have coffee in the morning. Aren't they sweet? I digress. The syrup was very easy. I was only concerned that the Marsala cooking wine I bought at the store wouldn't be sweet enough. I did a little research about what kind to buy, and everything I read said to be wary of Marsala cooking wine sold in grocery stores as it tends to not be the best quality. But, I didn't want to spend a fortune on a good wine when I only needed an ounce of it for the recipe. In fact, I still have a giant bottle left which means I will probably be making Chicken Marsala in the not too distant future.

After the syrup had cooled I brushed it on the cupcakes repeatedly until I was out of syrup. I'm not sure how many coats each cupcakes got, in hindsight I probably should have kept count. I'm thinking it was at least 5, but not as many as 10. Once the cupcakes were syruped (that's a very technical term) they had to absorb the syrup for 30 minutes before they could be frosted with the mascarpone frosting.

First of all, it took me forever to find mascarpone cheese in the grocery store. I was starting to get concerned that it wasn't going to be in my local store and I'd have to go on a mission to find it. Of course, it was in the last place I looked. But, conveniently for me it was in a lovely 8-ounce container, which was just the amount I needed. Winning! While the heavy cream was becoming whipped cream I mixed the mascarpone cheese and confectioner's sugar. As previously mentioned here, it has been extremely hot lately. For that reason it took the heavy cream a little longer than I expected for it to become whipped cream. Once it became whipped cream it didn't hold up very well when folded into the mascarpone cheese mixture that was room temperature. I thought I was going to get a nice smooth, whipped frosting, but I didn't. It wasn't actually lumpy in texture, it just looked that way. The whipped cream started to melt back into it's original heavy-cream consistency. I tried putting it in the fridge and freezer in the hopes that it would solidify and not be so watery. No luck. So before it completely melted I globbed it onto the cupcakes and quickly popped them into the fridge so they wouldn't become a soggy mess. It worked, the cupcakes held themselves together. Granted they aren't the most beautiful things I've ever made, but they sure do taste good. It's what's on the inside that counts anyway... right?

Devil's In a Paper Liner... Food Cupcakes

I've never understood where the name devil's food cake comes from. What does it mean? Is it because cupcakes/cake is bad for you? It certainly can't be an indication of taste because devil's food cake is delicious. I'm sure a simple Google search could find me an answer, but I've never been inspired to look. I'll just let it remain one of life's little unsolved mysteries, or some research that I'll save for a rainy day in the future.

I have made devil's food cupcakes before, but not with Martha's recipe. I've learned through my previous baking that devil's food cake tends to be a lighter version of a chocolate cake. I was most excited about this recipe because I knew I would be able to pawn off the cupcakes on co-workers, or friends (everyone loves chocolate!) and I would have the opportunity to make chocolate ganache for the first time. I've always wanted to try it, but I've purposely never come across a recipe that has required it. I've steered away from it because it always seemed time consuming and finicky, and I didn't want to spend all that time to only get a sub-par result.

The recipe for the cupcakes was fairly easy. The only thing that I thought was a bit strange was the part where I had to melt the butter with the sugar and then mix it for a few minutes in a saucepan on the stove. I've never done that with a cupcake recipe (or any recipe) before. I wasn't sure how long I was supposed to let the butter melt, if I was supposed to let the sugar dissolve, or what. Martha was not very specific. So, I let the butter melt, but didn't wait until the sugar dissolved because that seemed wrong. I mixed it for 4-5 minutes before I put the eggs in one at a time, and proceeded with the rest of the recipe.

The batter was scrumptious on a pre-baking taste test. I filled the muffin tins 3/4 full and baked for 20 total minutes, with a rotation halfway through the baking time. I even let the tins cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing the cupcakes from the pan and putting another batch in the oven. At some point it would probably make sense to invest in another cupcake pan. Why I haven't at this point is a mystery even to me.

I came away with 27 cupcakes, 5 less than the recipe said I would get, but that's probably because I'm a little more generous with filling the tins (and taste testing the batter) than Martha is. I like a full-looking cupcake anyway. They look so much nicer. As per the norm I gave a taste test (you know I love taste tests!) to a non-ganached cupcake and it was very good. Light, like devil's food cake normally is, but thick (if that makes sense), as well. In other words, you wanted milk, or if you're like me, ice cream, while eating the cupcake.

Now the chocolate ganache. After this experience I know why I've never attempted to make it before... it takes forever. The chocolate chopping and heavy cream and corn syrup simmering were pain free, but waiting for the ganache to set up was not. The recipe said to refrigerate the ganache and stir it at 5-minute intervals until it started to hold its shape. I was thinking after 20-25 minutes I would be all set. I thought wrong. After about an hour of stirring every 5 minutes I got sick of waiting. I'm not a saint, I only have so much patience.

I wanted to frost the cupcakes like Martha did, using a spatula and spreading it on, but my ganache wasn't thick enough to get the kind of look I wanted. And as I previously mentioned I didn't want to wait any longer for the ganache to become thicker, so I came up with my own plan. I decided to dunk the top of the cupcakes in the ganache and frost them that way. It actually left them with a nice smooth finish that I liked. Another thing I didn't love about the ganache was the taste. The recipe called for bittersweet chocolate, which I used, and the ganache itself was on the bitter side (didn't see that one coming). The next go-round I might make it with semisweet chocolate just to better suit my taste. However, the ganache when combined with the cupcake was actually quite good. The 2 flavors bring out the best in each other.

Finally for the finishing touches I added the chocolate curls. Martha said they were optional, and I'm not always obliged to opt, but in this case I did. I got through adding the curls to about 8 cupcakes when the chocolate for the curls started melting in my hand making a sticky, though delicious, mess. It was at that point I rethought my decision to opt in, and opted out of the chocolate curls. At least I gave them a solid try... that's more than I can say for the flaked coconut option I was given a few cupcakes ago. It's all about progress!