Tiramasu Cupcakes

In the job I have, motivating students and rewarding them for good work can be an asset in achieving great results. With this in mind, I invited my new student leader team to dinner. I made some lasagna and we talked about good things in the past year and good things they want to see happen on campus in the year to come. To cap off the meal I treated them to Martha's take on an Italian classic, Tiramasu.

Having never had tiramasu before I'm not sure what I was getting into but I read the recipe to prepare. And I knew that Tiramasu needed coffee, less than a cup. Those who know me, know I don't know how to brew coffee to save my life. (Plus for such a small amount). So when I went to the store to get the marscapone cheese (for the icing) and marsala wine (for the syrup) I stopped by Dunkin Donuts for a small cup of black coffee. It worked.

The batter for these are very eggy and bake up almost like a thick eggy custard. Then you paint them with the coffee -marsala syrup until there is none left (that's like a million strokes per cupcake--so I got tired and cheated and poured a tablespoon each on them). Then let them rest and soak in the goodness. Whipping up the frosting was simple. It's like making sweet marscapone mousse. (I only used half the tub of marscapone. I used the rest for a quick dinner with my husband. boiled pasta, sauteed some onions and cherry tomatoes then tossed it all together with the marscapone--it melts and turns into a kind of sauce. Not bad).

To add flare for the presentation for my students I dusted the tops with cocoa powder arranged them on a plate and presented them to shouts of WOOHOO.



I had leftovers which my community group got to enjoy (as usual) and also brought some to the Zila's house since Jen and I were having lunch. Turns out, tiramasu is Jon Zila's favorite dessert so I won Friend of the Day award.

Last Bite: These were addictive little suckers (maybe the coffee, maybe the marscapone...) and they feel very fancy but are fairly simple despite being 3 steps (cake, syrup and frosting). These will stay in the upscale rotation or whenever I'm having an Italian night.