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Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F. Paper line a cupcake tin and set aside.
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Syrup prep: In a small bowl, mix together the hot water, espresso powder, 3 tablespoons Marsala wine, and 50 grams of granulated white sugar.
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Syrup prep: stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Set aside to cool completely. Proceed to making the sponge.
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Sponge prep: In a medium sized bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.
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Whisk to aerate the flour mixture. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla and melted butter. Set aside. Tip: make sure you don't use a small bowl like I did....you will regret it later haha.
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In a stand mixer bowl, mix all the eggs and 200 grams sugar. Set the stand mixer bowl over a pot of simmering water (to create a double boiler). The water shouldn't touch the base of the mixer bowl.
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Whisk CONSTANTLY until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch, about 4-5 minutes. Make sure the stove heat is on low so that you don't end up making scrambled eggs!
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Remove the bowl from the pot/stove and place it into your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
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Whisk the egg mixture on high speed until it is airy/fluffy, pale yellow in colour and holds a thick ribbon on the surface for several seconds when the whisk is lifted. Don't over beat!
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Gently but thoroughly fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture in 3 batches. This is the first batch of flour...
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Here is the second batch of flour....
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And this was after folding the last batch of flour.
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Scoop about 1/2 cup of the batter into the butter mixture. This helps to lighten the butter mixture so you can add the butter mixture to your batter without deflating it.
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As mentioned earlier....use a medium bowl for your butter mixture because it is hard to fold properly inside a tiny bowl when using a large spatula :]
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Now pour in your lightened butter mixture into the stand mixer bowl. Pour it along the side of the bowl so that it doesn't deflate your batter too much.
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Gently fold with a spatula to create a smooth batter until all the ingredients are well incorporated but be careful that you don't over-fold!
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Divide batter evenly among paper-lined cupcake tin, filling each cavity almost 2/3 full.
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Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until centres are completely set and edges are light golden brown, about 13-17 minutes.
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Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing the cupcakes out of the tin. Proceed to making the frosting.
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Frosting: In a large bowl, whisk together mascarpone, confectioner's sugar and Marsala.
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Whisk until smooth. Set aside.
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In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium speed, whisk the whipping cream.
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Whisk until stiff peaks form.
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Gently but thoroughly fold half of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.
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Fold until completely incorporated.
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Gently but thoroughly fold the remaining half of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated.
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Ready. Use immediately.
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Core/scoop out the centres of each cooled cupcake and set the cores upside down on a plate. You can core the cupcakes using a cupcake corer/plunger, apple corer or with a small paring knife and spoon.
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Pour approximately 1 teaspoonful of the espresso syrup over each cupcake core and another 1 teaspoonful over each cupcake. Try to pour the syrup evenly over the whole sponge.
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Transfer frosting into a prepared piping bag fitted with a large round or star tip (Wilton 1M for me).
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Pipe each hollowed out cupcake with enough mascarpone frosting to fill.
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Place the cut-out pieces of sponge back on top of the hole, covering the filling and, if necessary, trimming the sponge pieces to fit.
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Pipe a generous swirl of frosting onto each cupcake.
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Dust each cupcake with a generous amount of unsweetened cocoa powder.
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It's ok to make a little mess. :]
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Optional: Garnish cupcake with chocolate sticks/shavings/curls/chips and fresh raspberries.
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Ingredients
⅓ | Cups Boiling water |
1½ | Teaspoons Espresso powder |
3 | Tablespoons Dry marsala wine |
50 | Grams Granulated white sugar |
150 | Grams Cake flour, sifted |
¾ | Teaspoons Baking powder |
½ | Teaspoons Salt |
¼ | Cups Milk |
1½ | Teaspoons Pure vanilla extract |
57 | Grams Unsalted butter, melted |
3 | Whole large eggs |
3 | Large egg yolks |
200 | Grams Granulated white sugar |
1½ | Cups Whipping cream, cold |
172 | Grams Mascarpone cheese |
90 | Grams Confectioners' sugar |
1½ | Tablespoons Dry marsala wine |
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting | |
Fresh raspberries (optional) | |
Chocolate decorations (optional) |