Spongy coffee flavored cupcakes join with creamy mascarpone buttercream frosting to make these delicious tiramisu cupcakes! These cupcakes are crafted from my favorite vanilla cupcakes recipe, but with a few tweaks to give them the flavor of lady fingers soaked in coffee. They're topped with a super simple mascarpone buttercream frosting and light dusting of cocoa powder for that classic tiramisu look and feel.
how to make tiramisu cupcakes
1. Brew coffee. Dissolve instant coffee in boiling water and set aside to cool. It's important to let it cool completely to room temperature before using it in the batter, otherwise it can cause the cupcakes to come out greasy. It usually cools pretty fast, but you can also speed this up by popping it into the fridge.
2. Cream together butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy. This is really easy to whip by hand but you can also use a mixer if you prefer.
3. Whisk eggs in, one at a time. Be sure to mix well until the first egg disappears before adding in the next one.
4. Alternate mixing in dry ingredients and remaining wet ingredients. Strat by whisking in about half of the dry ingredients, followed by the cooled coffee, sour cream, and vanilla. Finish off by mixing in the remaining dry ingredients. The batter will be a little clumpy - that makes the cupcakes extra soft!
5. Portion batter into cupcake cups, bake and cool cupcakes. This recipe makes about 16 cupcakes, so you'll need to line 2 cupcake tins (one fully lined with 12 cups and one lined with 3 cups).
You can bake this batter in the same cupcake tin in batches if you only have one - just make sure the tin cools completely to room temperature before adding the second round of batter in. The batter can sit at room temperature for about an hour before it needs to be baked.
6. Make the mascarpone frosting. Don't start the frosting until the cupcakes have cooled completely to room temperature. It comes together super quickly anyways!
7. Combine frosting ingredients (minus 1 cup powdered sugar). Whip together until smooth and creamy.
8. Add in the remaining powdered sugar. Whip until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, you can thin it out with a splash more heavy cream. If the batter is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
9. Decorate! Pipe or spread the frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes and dust with a little cocoa powder.
tips
- room temperature - It's important to have all your ingredients at room temperature. Not only do they incorporate much more easily and smoothly, but it will also yield a velvety and soft texture! It's also important to allow the coffee to cool completely to room temperature before using, otherwise it can melt the butter in the cupcake batter and lead to greasy cakes.
- measuring flour - Flour is one of the most easily mismeasured ingredients (if not the most). It's best to measure by weight, but if you do prefer to use cups, make sure you use the spoon and level method: lightly fluff the flour up in the bag, spoon it into your measuring cup and use a flat utensil (like a butter knife) to level off the top.
- mixing - Take care not to overmix the cupcake batter or the frosting. The cupcakes can end up dense, with sunken centers if the batter is overworked - this is mostly a problem once the flour is added into the mix. The frosting on the other hand can end up grainy if it's over mixed. Plus overmixing is more work and who likes that??
- filling the cupcake cups - Make sure to fill the cupcake cups no more than about ⅔ of the way full. Underfilled cupcake liners will yield flat cupcakes while overfilled liners will yield wonky, over risen tops and (sometimes) sunken in centers.
- baking and cooling - Overbaked cupcakes will (obviously) be dry, so the best time to pull them out of the oven is when a skewer inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet or goopy batter. Also avoid cooling the cupcakes for more than about 10 minutes in the tin, otherwise the residual heat can continue to dry them out.
FAQs
can I use strongly brewed coffee?
You can substitute the boiling water + instant coffee for ¼ cup (room temperature) strongly brewed coffee of your choice. Just make sure it's a blend you enjoy drinking (because if you don't like the flavor as a coffee, you probably won't like it in a cupcake).
can I skip the sour cream?
Sour cream helps make these cupcakes extra moist. If you don't have any on hand or just don't want to use it, you can swap it out for an equal amount of plain yogurt mixed with ½ a tablespoon of vinegar to achieve the same effect!
can I use olive oil / other oils?
Olive oil will slightly alter the flavor of the cupcakes. If you like the taste, feel free to use it. Otherwise, try to stick with oils with neutral flavor. Some great options are canola, corn, or peanut oil. If you're keen on using olive oil, but don't want to taste it, extra light olive oil should work fine!
can I make the cupcakes / frosting in advance?
Yes! The unfrosted cupcakes will keep for about 4 days at room temperature or 1 week in the fridge. Wrap them tightly with plastic wrap to seal in air and keep them moist. The frosting can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days - just set it out at room temperature to soften slightly before using so it's not too firm from the fridge.
tiramisu cupcake storage
Since there's cheese in the frosting, the frosted cupcakes need to be stored in the fridge until ready to serve. Sitting in the fridge will cause the cupcakes and the frosting to firm up a bit. So if you're not a fan of that, you can set the cupcakes out at room temperature for about 30 minutes or until softened slightly (if it's a cooler month, this could take up to 60 minutes).
check out these other recipes!
• Fresh Lemon Tiramisu
• Tiramisu Cookies
• Eggless Caramel Tiramisu
• Coffee Coffee Cake
Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.
Print
Tiramisu Cupcakes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 cupcakes
Description
Spongy coffee flavored cupcakes join with creamy mascarpone buttercream frosting to make these delicious tiramisu cupcakes! These cupcakes are crafted from my favorite vanilla cupcakes recipe, but with a few tweaks to give them the flavor of lady fingers soaked in coffee. They're topped with a super simple mascarpone buttercream frosting and light dusting of cocoa powder for that classic tiramisu look and feel.
Ingredients
For the espresso cupcakes:
- ¼ cup (60mL) boiling water
- 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
- 1 & ¾ cups (210g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (90g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, or any neutral flavored oil
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) sour cream, at room temperature
For the mascarpone buttercream frosting:
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 ounces (115g) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream, plus more if needed to thin the frosting
- 3 cups (390g) powdered sugar, sifted
- cocoa powder, for dusting on top (about 1 tablespoon)
Instructions
Make the espresso cupcakes:
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Line 2 standard sized cupcake tins with 16 paper liners and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine boiling water and espresso powder. Mix until the espresso is dissolved. Set aside to cool completely to room temperature.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine butter, vegetable oil, and sugar. Cream together until pale and fluffy. This will take about 1 to 2 minutes by hand with a whisk or around 30 to 60 seconds with a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed.
- Whisk eggs into the butter mixture one at a time, beating well to combine before adding in the next egg.
- Add in about half of the flour mixture and mix until combined.
- Add in vanilla, sour cream, and the cooled espresso. Whisk to combine.
- Finish off by adding in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Take care not to overmix! The batter should have a few lumps but there shouldn't be any dry streaks of flour.
- Portion the cupcake batter into your prepared cupcake tin, filling each cup no more than about ⅔ of the way full.
- Bake the cupcakes in the center of your preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the cupcakes for about 5 to 10 minutes in the tin then transfer onto a wire rack. Cool completely to room temperature before frosting.
Make the mascarpone buttercream frosting:
- In a large bowl, combine butter, mascarpone cheese, salt, vanilla, heavy cream, and 2 cups of powdered sugar (so basically, all the ingredients for the frosting minus 1 cup of powdered sugar and the cocoa powder).
- Using a handheld mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix on low speed until everything is dissolved. Once combined, whip on medium high speed for about 1 minute to smoothen out any large clumps.
- Scrape down the sides of your bowl then add the remaining 1 cup powdered sugar. Mix again on low until dissolved.
- Whip for another 1 to 2 minutes on medium high speed or until light and fluffy. Take care not to overmix or the frosting can end up grainy. If you find the frosting is too thick, you can thin it out with a splash more heavy cream. If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Pipe or spread the frosting onto your cooled cupcakes and sift cocoa powder on top for a light dusting. Serve right away or keep in the fridge until ready to enjoy!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Bake Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
Enjoy!
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