Espresso Soaked Tiramisu Cupcakes with Fluffy Mascarpone Cream

You already know I love me a good ol’ fashioned Tiramisu. But sometimes, Tiramisu can be kind of challenging to serve to a crowd so enterrrrr Tiramisu Cupcakes!

I made my favorite simple vanilla cupcakes LIGHTLY soaked them in strong espresso because we want to punch a strong flavor but not overdue it on the liquid to make it soggy.

I frosted them with a fluffy and stable mascarpone cream and of course, a generous dusting of cocoa powder. 

I used the same espresso soak on my vanilla latte cupcakes (but with a GORGEOUS coffee French buttercream) and on pretty much all my tiramisu desserts.

I also used this mascarpone cream on sooo many recipes, again all my tiramisu inspired desserts like my donuts and my chocolate tiramisu cupcakes.

The cream actually holds up so well at room temperature for a while (but obviously not outside in the heat!).

Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

There’s three parts to my tiramisu cupcakes:

1. The Vanilla Cupcake recipe – she’s my favorite and she’s quite simple.
2. The Espresso Soak – really just one step here but it can make or break your cupcakes.
3. Mascarpone Cream – a whip cream base that’s quite stable with the mascarpone added to it.

Vanilla Cupcakes

I highly recommend using a digital scale to measure your ingredients and to weigh the batter for each cupcake. I do about 50-55 grams off batter in each cupcake tin. This ensures that they all bake up perfectly even.

I always recommend a light colored metal pan for baking so that you get a nice even bake on your cupcakes.

1. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until they’re evenly distributed.
2. Add the room temperature butter and the oil and use an electric mixer to beat them at medium, until they’re crumbly like a streusel. 
3. Add the egg and mix just until it’s well combined and the batter looks like paste.
4. Add the sour cream and turn the mixer to low speed while streaming in the milk.
5. Scrape the edge of the bowl and give it a good mix. Fill the cupcake liners about ⅔-¾ full. I recommend weighing them so each cupcake has 50-55 grams of batter.  
6. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until the tallest part of the cupcake, in the center, springs back when you press on it. If you’re hesitant, give it another minute or so.
7. Let the cupcakes rest for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove them from the pan. 
8. Use a fork to poke holes in the top of each cupcake and drizzle 1-2 Tbsp of cooled espresso onto each cupcake. 

Troubleshooting: Why did my cupcakes sink? Cupcakes can be finicky sometimes. I find that my cupcakes sink when they’re over-filled so that’s why I recommend weighing the batter.

Espresso Soak

The key here is to make a very strong coffee so that drizzling just a little on the cupcake will still pack a punch of coffee flavor without making the cupcake soaking wet. I use my Breville to draw a shots and my shots are each only 30mL.

You can use espresso powder if you want, there should be instructions on how much to mix with water on the box.

1. Brew espresso (or make some with espresso powder) and let it cool while the cupcakes are cooling.
2. Poke holes into the top of the cupcakes with a fork and slowly and gently use a spoon to spread some of the espresso on top of the cupcake to soak into the holes. I spilled some as you can see but try to not do this quickly so that it doesn’t all run off the sides of the cupcake and make a puddle.

Mascarpone Frosting

I do recommend the Belgiososo brand of mascarpone because it seems to have less liquid than other brands I’ve tried.

I’ve never had any issues with this mascarpone cream separating or curdling when using that brand and it does stay well at room temperature for a while.

1. Beat together the cold mascarpone with the powdered sugar until it’s completely smooth.
2. Add the vanilla bean paste and turn the mixer to medium speed. 
3. Stream in the cold heavy whipping cream in 3-4 increments, stopping to scrape the edge of the bowl each time.
4. Once all the heavy whipping cream is added, it may seem soft so turn the mixer up to full speed and it should thicken and hold peaks within a couple of minutes. Don’t over-beat once you’ve reached this stage.
5. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and dust the tops with cocoa powder. The cocoa powder will soak into the frosting so if you want it to look nice fresh, dust it a few minutes before serving.

Serving & Storing Cupcakes with a Mascarpone Cream

These definitely need to be refrigerated because of the mascarpone cream however I recommend keeping them in airtight container so they don’t dry out.

I would bring them out of the fridge like an hour or so before serving and dust them with cocoa powder fresh before serving.

If you have any questions, please comment down below – those will get answered much quicker than email or through social media. 

If you’ve tried these tiramisu cupcakes, I would very much appreciate a star rating or review as well.

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B

Recipes

Cupcakes

Tiramisu Cupcakes with Easy Mascarpone Cream

4.50 from 22 votes

prep 45 minutes mins

cook 18 minutes mins

Additional Time 30 minutes mins

total 1 hour hr 33 minutes mins

Serves 13 cupcakes

Super moist and tender vanilla cupcakes soaked in espresso and frosted with fluffy mascarpone cream topped with a generous dusting of cocoa powder.

Author: Bernice Baran

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Servings 13 cupcakes

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Equipment

• ▢
  Vanilla Bean Paste
• ▢
  Kitchen Aid 5 qt. Stand Mixer or hand mixer
• ▢
  Kitchen Scale
• ▢
  Disposable Piping Bags
• ▢
  Muffin Pan 

Metric(US) Imperial

Ingredients

Vanilla Cupcakes

• ▢ 180 grams cake flour, spooned and leveled
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• ▢ 200 grams granulated sugar
• ▢ 60 mL canola oil, or any neutral oil
• ▢ 56 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
• ▢ 1 large egg, room temperature (or 2 large egg whites if you want whiter cupcakes)
• ▢ 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• ▢ 113 grams sour cream
• ▢ 80 mL whole milk, room temperature
• ▢ 240-360 mL espresso , (or strong coffee) room temperature

Mascarpone

• ▢ 227 grams mascarpone cheese , cold (I recommend Belgioioso)**
• ▢ 120 grams powdered sugar, spooned and leveled
• ▢ 180 mL heavy whipping cream, cold
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• ▢ tiny pinch of fine sea salt
• ▢ Cocoa powder for dusting, I used dutch

Method

Vanilla Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 325F/163C convection and line 13 muffin tins with cupcake liners (preferably a light colored pan).
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, salt and sugar until they're evenly distributed (whisk well).
   180 grams cake flour spooned and leveled, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, 200 grams granulated sugar
3. Add the oil and butter to the dry ingredients and beat together until they're combined.
   60 mL canola oil or any neutral oil, 56 grams unsalted butter room temperature
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract and paste and mix until they're fully combined.
   1 large egg room temperature (or 2 large egg whites if you want whiter cupcakes), 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
5. Add the sour cream and turn the mixer to low speed, while streaming the milk in. Scrape the edge of the bowl and mix just until the cupcake batter is smooth.
   113 grams sour cream, 80 mL whole milk room temperature
6. Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3-3/4 full, about 50-55 grams of batter per cupcake.* You will have enough batter for about half a cupcake leftover. DO NOT BE TEMPTED to distribute that among the cupcakes, they will sink if they’re overfilled.
7. Bake for 16-18 minutes. They are done when you press on the center of the cupcake and it springs back or when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. Remove them from the oven and let them cool in the cupcake pan for 10 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before soaking.
9. Poke holes into the tops of the cupcakes and brush them each with about 1-2 Tbsp of the coffee.
   240-360 mL espresso (or strong coffee) room temperature

Mascarpone Cream

1. Place the cold mascarpone into the bowl of a stand mixer (or just a large bowl with a hand mixer) with the powdered sugar and salt.
   227 grams mascarpone cheese cold (I recommend Belgioioso)**, 120 grams powdered sugar spooned and leveled, tiny pinch of fine sea salt
2. Beat at low-medium speed until they’re combined and then increase the speed to medium-high for 1-2 minutes, scraping the edge of the bowl halfway through.
3. Add the vanilla and the cold heavy whipping cream in 3-4 increments, mixing well between each addition.
   180 mL heavy whipping cream cold, 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
4. After adding all the heavy whipping cream, the cream may look soft, turn the mixer up to full speed for 1-2 more minutes and it should stiffen up (like whipped cream does).
5. Use a piping bag fit with a large round piping tip to frost the cupcakes. Use a small spoon or small offset spatula to create a little swirl on top and dust with cocoa powder.
   Cocoa powder for dusting I used dutch

Notes

• *I weigh 55g of batter for each cupcake. If it's less, they'll be short and if it's too much, they may sink.
• The vanilla cupcake recipe was designed to stay pale so don't look for a golden brown color when it's finished baking. Just gently press on the cake and it should spring back.
• I recommend a light colored metal cupcake pan if you want them more uniform in color.
• Store in an airtight container, at room temperature for 2-3 days or refrigerated for 7-10 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 372kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 4gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 120mgPotassium: 64mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 26gVitamin A: 642IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 83mgIron: 0.3mg

Course: Cupcakes

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: espresso, mascarpone cream, tiramisu