- Serves 12 – Ready in 1 hour 45 min (including 30 minutes of cooling time)-
If made with strong, caffeinated instant coffee then these pudding-cupcakes by Lorraine Pascale will keep you awake to see in the New Year at midnight!
Also delicious when made as a large, single cake (and quicker to make) - see the slight recipe adaptations detailed at the bottom of this post if you want to make the one cake version.
Gather together...
165g coarsely grated, room temperature butter.
100g brown sugar.
100g white (caster or granulated) sugar.
2 tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 4 tbsp hot water from the kettle.
4 medium free-range eggs.
260g self-raising flour, sieved.
80g FULL-FAT cream cheese (Philadelphia or unbranded equivalent).
12 Amaretti almond biscuits, roughly crumbled.
Gather together for the filling...
EITHER (if your mascarpone has a 'high' 43%+ fat content)...
6 tbsp (100g) icing sugar, SIEVED.
500g tub full-fat mascarpone, it must have a fat content of at least 43% (Morrisons and Tesco mascarpone works well) or else it will split and go liquid-y when it is mixed with the icing sugar.
1 tsp vanilla extract (the Taylor & Colledge brand is fairtrade certified / the Dr Oetker brand is alcohol free).
OR (if your mascarpone has a 'lower' i.e. under 43% fat content)...
250g mascarpone cheese.
300ml double cream (MUST be double cream as it needs to whip up, DO NOT use Elmlea).
2 tsp vanilla extract (the Taylor & Colledge brand is fairtrade certified / the Dr Oetker brand is alcohol free).
4tbsp (60g) icing sugar.
and...
8 Amoretti almond biscuits, roughly crumbled.
Gather together for the sugar syrup...
165g white caster sugar.
165ml boiling water from the kettle.
2 tbsp instant coffee powder.
Get making (cupcake version)...
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) or Gas 4.
2. Boil a half-full kettle (for the coffee to go into the cakes and for the sugar syrup).
3. Line a muffin tin (i.e. big, deep tin holes) with 12 muffin cases (5cm base diameter, 2.5cm tall). I have reusable silicone cupcake cases, (5cm diameter at the base and 2.5cm deep) which can be re-used for years (but they do need washing and drying VERY well after use), if you know you won't care for re-usable cases properly then you can get unbleached, compostable 'If You Care' baking cases, the 'large' size cases fit standard baking tins.
4. In a cup, dissolve the 2 tbsp of instant coffee into 4 tbsp of boiling water from the kettle – stir well. Set to one side to cool slightly so it doesn’t scramble the eggs or melt the cheese!
5. Put the 165g grated butter, the 100g of brown sugar and the 100g of white sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to cream together for 1 – 2 minutes (scraping down the sides and base a few times and unclogging the beaters) until light and fluffy.
6. Add the 4 medium eggs and sieve in the 260g of SR flour. Mix by hand at first then give a 30 second blast with the electric mixer.
7. Add the 80g of cream cheese, the (now slightly cooled) coffee and the 12 roughly crumbled almond Amoretti biscuits and mix well by hand for 30 seconds.
8. Using two dessertspoons, divide the mixture evenly among the muffin cases by weighing the cases as you fill them on the scales - put 85g into each case. Spread the mixture flat with the back of a spoon.
9. Bake in the oven, on the middle shelf, for 25–30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cupcake comes out clean.
10. The syrup and filling can be made while the cakes are baking. Put all of the syrup ingredients (165g white caster sugar, 165ml boiling water from the kettle and 2 tbsp of instant coffee powder) in a pan over a low heat and let the sugar dissolve for 5 minutes. Turn up the heat to medium and boil for 2 minutes (keep an eye on the pan so it doesn’t bubble over). Then remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool a little.
11. Meanwhile, check the fat content of your mascarpone...
11(a). If your mascarpone has a 'high' 43%+ fat content: Into a medium bowl, SIEVE the 6tbsp of icing sugar (otherwise your filling will have unsightly clumps). Add the 500g mascarpone and the 1 tsp of vanilla extract and stir VERY gently for up to 30 seconds. This quick and simple filling ONLY works if your mascarpone has a very high fat content to stabilise the mixture, a lower than 43% fat content will mean the filling quickly becomes runny and leaks out of the cake.
11(b). If your mascarpone has a lower than 43% fat content, add double cream to stabilise it: In a medium bowl, place the 250g mascarpone, the 300ml of double cream and the 2 tsp of vanilla extract and mix with a handheld whisk for about 30 seconds, just to combine. Sieve in the 4 tbsp of icing sugar and stir until fully mixed, this will take about 1 minute. It will be very runny at this stage - fear not. Then use an electric whisk for 2 - 5 minutes, until firm peaks form.
13. To the mascarpone-mixture add the 8 roughly-crushed Amaretti almond biscuits. Cover the bowl of filling and set it aside in the fridge.
14. Once the cakes are baked, remove them from the oven and leave them to cool slightly in the tins.
15. Once you can handle the cakes, remove them from their cases and slice each in half horizontally. It is best to do this step whilst they are quite warm so they will absorb the coffee syrup more readily. Put the halves cut-side up in a large serving dish to help stop the sticky syrup from sloshing everywhere.
16. Brush each cut side (24 in total) generously with the sugar syrup. Use about 1 tbsp per cut side - the cakes should be really moist. Keep the rest of the syrup to drizzle over the cakes just before serving.
17. Now leave the cakes alone for 30 minutes, until they are cool (or else the filling will slide out).
18. Once cool, sandwich the halves back together with a generous dollop of the mascarpone cream mixture from the fridge and drizzle over the remaining warm syrup (if it has cooled too much to drizzle by now, put the pan back on the hob for 30 seconds).
19. Serve straightaway or keep in the fridge until needed. These will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Adapted slightly from Lorraine Pascal’s Mini Tiramisu Cakes in her Baking Made Easy book.
New Year's Eve Season: Caffeinated Tiramisu (large) Cake.
The ingredients are all the same as the cupcake version, except that you could use coffee buttercream (pictured) instead of a mascarpone-mixture filling, if preferred / needed.
Get making (big, single-cake version)...
1. Preheat the oven to 170C (150C fan) or between Gas 3 and 4 - i.e. slightly cooler than when making the cupcakes
2. Boil a half-full kettle (for the coffee to go into the cakes and for the sugar syrup).
3. Butter-grease 2 loose-bottomed 23cm / 9 inch cake tins and line the bases with buttered greaseproof-paper / reusable circular liners. Or use smaller (but deep enough) cake tins e.g. 20 cm / 8 inch, and increase the cooking time a bit.
4. In a cup, dissolve the 2 tbsp of instant coffee into 4 tbsp of boiling water from the kettle – stir well. Set to one side to cool slightly so it doesn’t scramble the eggs or melt the cheese!
5. Put the 165g grated butter, the 100g of brown sugar and the 100g of white sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to cream together for 1 – 2 minutes (scraping down the sides and base a few times and unclogging the beaters) until light and fluffy.
6. Add the 4 medium eggs and sieve in the 260g of SR flour. Mix by hand at first then give a 30 second blast with the electric mixer.
7. Add the 80g of cream cheese, the (now slightly cooled) coffee and the 12 roughly crumbled almond Amaretti biscuits and mix well by hand for 30 seconds.
8. Put 500g of the mixture into each of the two lined and greased 23cm / 9 inch loose-bottomed cake tins. Share out any leftover mixture between the two tins evenly. Spread the mixture flat with the back of a spoon. The cake mixture will line the tins only rather thinly, this is fine as we are making quite thin, dense cakes which can handle being drenched in the coffee syrup later.
9. Bake the cakes in the oven, on the middle shelf, for 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. They won't rise very much, again this is fine as we are aiming to make quite thin, dense cakes which can handle being drenched in the coffee syrup.
10. The syrup and filling can be made while the cakes are baking. Put all of the syrup ingredients (165g white caster sugar, 165ml boiling water from the kettle and 2 tbsp of instant coffee powder) in a pan over a low heat and let the sugar dissolve for 5 minutes. Turn up the heat to medium and boil for 2 minutes (keep an eye on the pan so it doesn’t bubble over). Then remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool a little.
11. Meanwhile, check the fat content of your mascarpone...
11(a). If your mascarpone has a 'high' 43%+ fat content: Into a medium bowl, SIEVE the 6tbsp of icing sugar (otherwise your filling will have unsightly clumps). Add the 500g mascarpone and the 1 tsp of vanilla extract and and stir VERY gently for up to 30 seconds. This quick and simple filling ONLY works if your mascarpone has a very high fat content to stabilise the mixture, a lower than 43% fat content will mean the filling quickly becomes runny and leaks out of the cake.
11(b). If your mascarpone has a lower than 43% fat content, add double cream to stabilise it: In a medium bowl, place the 250g mascarpone, the 300ml of double cream and the 2 tsp of vanilla extract and mix with a handheld whisk for about 30 seconds. Sieve in the 4 tbsp of icing sugar and stir until fully mixed, this will take about 1 minute. It will be very runny at this stage - fear not. Then use an electric whisk for 2 - 5 minutes, until firm peaks form.
11(c). OR, make buttercream (by mixing 140g of soft, well-beaten butter, 280g of sieved icing sugar and 2 tbsp of the coffee syrup).
13. To the mascarpone-mixture (or buttercream mixture) add the 8 roughly-crushed Amaretti almond biscuits. Cover the bowl of filling and set it aside in the fridge.
14. . Once the cakes are baked, remove them from the oven and leave them to cool in their tins for 10 minutes so they are cool enough to handle safely. During this time, decide which cake looks the best and remember to use that one as the 'top cake' when it comes to the constructing the layers.
15. After 10 minutes, remove the cakes from their tins - turn them upside down onto large dinner-plates ready to be soaked in the syrup.
16. Brush the base of each cake (now facing upper-most) generously with the sugar syrup. Use about 10 tbsp per cake - the cakes should be really moist. Keep the rest of the syrup to drizzle over the cake just before serving.
17. Now leave the cakes alone for 30 minutes, until they are cool (or else the filling will slide out).
18. Once cool and making sure the best-looking cake is on top, sandwich the soaked sides of the cakes together with the mascarpone-mixture (or buttercream if using) from the fridge. Dot the mascarpone-mixture all over the syrup-soaked side of one cake (but not too near the edge - you may not need to use all of the mascarpone mixture) and place the other cake (soaked side downwards) on top.
19. Drizzle over the remaining warm syrup (if it has cooled too much to drizzle by now, put the pan back on the hob for 30 seconds).
20. Serve straightaway or keep in the fridge until needed. This cake will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.