Mocha Mascarpone Cupcakes (or My Cupcake Wars Winners!)

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Chocolate & coffee are a match made in heaven – and these award-winning Mocha Mascarpone Cupcakes are the ultimate flavor combo!

It’s Wednesday, and I do declare that means cupcakes for my cupcakes!

Because, you know, since we took the plunge from cupcake to kitchen, my dear sweet babycakes have been seriously neglected. I’ve made everything from bundt cakes to crumb cakes to cake rolls – but not nearly enough of my favorite dessert.

Please forgive me. Hopefully, these ridiculously delicious ones will make up for my cupcake slacking.

If I could work coffee into every meal of my day, I think I would.

Hot, iced, latte, cold brew. Whatever, I’ll take one.

I spent this past Monday with my friend Faith (mostly business,) and much of our diet consisted of coffee. And discussion about coffee. I admitted that I’ve gotten to a point in my life where the caffeine no longer has any effect – I just drink coffee because I honestly like the way it tastes.

That’s not weird, is it?

It’s the one and only part of my new “hi i work from home” routine that I religiously stick to. (1) Hubby gets up for work (2) I crawl out of bed behind him, fire up the coffee maker and iron (3) then I let the dog out (4) and coffee magically appears.

Life fuel.

So, about these Mocha Mascarpone Cupcakes.

One of my favorite flavors to mix in with my daily cups (because let’s be real – I don’t only have one) is chocolate. Taking both of them and putting them in tasty baked treats is a no-brainer, which is exactly what I did in this Cupcakes Wars-winning recipe.

Let me explain. No, you won’t see me on TV (only replayed FB live video.) I didn’t compete on the actual Cupcake Wars show (I’m not really sure I could handle the pressure!) This past May, you may recall Lara and I attending the Everything Food Conference in Salt Lake City. One of the special events being held during the conference was a “Cupcake Battles” competition, hosted by Justin Willman…as soon as I saw the call for team ‘auditions,’ I filled out the Google form and sent it off.

Months went by with no word, so I assumed we hadn’t made the cut. No sweat.

Then, 3 weeks before the conference, an email lands in my inbox congratulating us on being one of the four competing teams.

Oh. Oh, crap.

At this point, I had forgotten completely about it, so the mad rush to develop and test a Cupcake Wars worthy recipe began. Chocolate cupcakes stuffed with espresso hot fudge, topped with a whipped Mascarpone buttercream and a playful bite of hazelnut brittle. Sounded good, and I knew the cupcake and hot fudge recipes were solid.

Lara and I did a timed practice run exactly one time, diving and conquering…and nailing it with minutes to spare. She was feeling pretty confident – she’d never made hot fudge or any sort of brittle (ever) and got them both perfect on the first try. And the finished cupcakes were actually super delicious! They passed the work critique test (since I can’t keep that many sweets in the house at one time,) so I knew we had a contender.

On stage during the competition, Lara had a tiny hiccup with the brittle; the sugar overcooked and crystallized. We had to scrap it and start again, but we somehow made it work and had our batch of pretty cupcakes ready before the buzzer went off.

These are winning cupcakes, folks. Just ask Justin Willman.

Mocha Mascarpone Cupcakes

Cuisine: Dessert

Servings: 18 cupcakes

Calories: 544 kcal

Chocolate & coffee are a match made in heaven - and these award-winning Mocha Mascarpone Cupcakes are the ultimate flavor combo!

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Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs plus 1 yolk room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour sifted
• 2/3 cups sour cream
• 3/4 cup hot espresso

Espresso Fudge Sauce

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup instant espresso coffee powder
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• Pinch kosher salt
• 7 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Hazelnut Espresso Brittle

• 1/4 cup hazelnuts toasted and chopped
• 3 tablespoons roasted coffee beans
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar

Mascarpone Buttercream

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese softened

Instructions

Chocolate Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 standard cupcake pans with 18 liners. Set aside.
2. In a mixer, cream butter until smooth. Add the sugars, eggs, and vanilla and mix until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, powder, and salt; mix well. Add one cup of flour, then half the sour cream and mix. Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream.
4. Slowly add the hot coffee and mix until smooth. The batter will be thin.
5. Fill cupcake liners ⅔ of the way. Place tins in the oven and drop the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake 15-16 minutes, checking at 15 for proper doming.
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then move to cooling rack. When cool, use a cupcake corer or small knife to make a well in the center of each cupcake.

Espresso Fudge Sauce

1. Bring cream, corn syrup, brown sugar, espresso powder, cocoa, salt, and half of chopped chocolate to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until chocolate is melted.
2. Reduce heat and cook at a slow boil, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, butter, and remaining chocolate until smooth. Cool to warm. Fill cored cupcakes with fudge sauce.

Hazelnut Espresso Brittle

1. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle nuts & coffee beans evenly down the middle of the sheet.
2. Place sugar in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat, and cook until sugar dissolves, stirring gently as needed to dissolve sugar evenly (about 2 minutes). Continue cooking 1 minute or until golden (do not stir).
3. Drizzle thin ribbons of caramelized sugar over nuts. Let stand 10 minutes or until firm; break into small pieces.

Mascarpone Buttercream

1. Beat powdered sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until thick and creamy, 4 to 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla.
2. Add mascarpone cheese, and beat on low speed just until combined, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. (Do not overmix!) 
3. Top filled cupcakes with buttercream. Drizzle thin lines with fudge & top with brittle pieces.

Recipe Notes

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Nutrition Facts

Mocha Mascarpone Cupcakes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 544 Calories from Fat 279

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 31g 48%

Saturated Fat 18g 90%

Cholesterol 92mg 31%

Sodium 170mg 7%

Total Carbohydrates 67g 22%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 55g

Protein 4g 8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Got a major cupcake craving?? Why not try one of my other award-winning desserts!

Chocolate Cannoli Cheesecake Mousse Torte

Banoffee Cream Puffs