Girls' Night In! - Tiramisu Cupcakes!

Naturally, for dessert, I made cupcakes! Since I was going with an Italian theme, I chose tiramisu (and it might have a little something to do with the fact that it is my FAVORITE dessert!!!) I found a few recipes online, and then asked my good friend CB if she knew of any good recipes, and what do you know...the ones she showed me are the ones I had been eyeing!

The two recipes in question are:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12266682@N00/370089996/
http://beantownbaker.blogspot.com/2008/09/tiramisu-cupcakes-cupcake-hero.html

I decided to go with the first one (which I actually found on a different website, but the recipe and photo were identical!) because it sounded a bit more like real tiramisu.

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Ingredients:
6 eggs, separated (separate when cold; allow to come to room temp)
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar, divided
3 tablespoon water, room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup sifted, all-purpose flour (measure after sifted)

In large mixing bowl at high speed, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add half of the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are glossy and stand in soft peaks. Rub just a bit of meringue between thumb and forefinger to feel if sugar has dissolved.
In small mixing bowl at high speed, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, water, vanilla and salt (if desired) until blended.
With a sifter or sprinkle flour with a sieve over whites. Add beaten yolk mixture. Gently, but thoroughly, fold yolk mixture and flour into whites.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 min or until done.

****Okay, so GET THIS. I had baked something just a few minutes earlier at the same temperature, so I figured I was all set to start baking cupcakes, right? Well, 10 minutes goes by. The cupcakes are definitely warm, but didn't seem to be setting. So, I put them in for 5 more minutes. Still nothing. I got this sinking feeling and it dawned on me....I just might have turned off the oven after baking earlier! Sure enough...I did. The cupcakes barely got a dose of warmth, and then just sat there for 15 minutes! I turned on the oven again and left them in there and set the timer for 10 minutes. I think maybe I should have baked them for a bit less, since they DID get all that extra time in the warm oven - but since they were drenched in the espresso syrup, I got lucky with these! Anyway, I had to share...I cannot believe I did that!!!****

Espresso Syrup

½ cup confectioner’s sugar
2/3 cup water
5 teaspoons espresso powder (I have an espresso maker, so I just made 1/3 cup of espresso and mixed it with 1/3 cup of brandy instead of using water and espresso powder)

In a small, heavy saucepan over high heat, combine the water, the remaining 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar and the espresso or coffee powder. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. (I just boiled my espresso/brandy combo with the sugar)

Use a fork to poke a few holes into cupcakes so that they will absorb liquid. Pour approximately ½-1 teaspoon of syrup onto each cupcake.

Frosting

3 c mascarpone
1 c confectioner’s sugar
¼ c marsala wine (I didn't have marsala wine, but I learned that you can mix 1/4 c of dry white wine with 1 tsp brandy, and it essentially tastes the same.)
¾ c heavy cream, chilled

In a medium bowl using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat together the mascarpone cheese, confectioner’s sugar and marsala until well blended. Add the cream and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Frost cupcakes with mascarpone/whipped cream mixture. Dust tops with cocoa powder (I used unsweetened) and then sprinkle with dark chocolate shavings.

This recipe was adapted from the recipes “Classic Sponge Cake” and “Espresso Tiramisu”, both found on www.baking911.com.