Chocolate-Espresso Cupcakes with Chocolate-Mascarpone Frosting

Rich and decadent, the poster-child for tasty & delicious! I made these cupcakes about 6 months ago when Bon Appetit featured this recipe as a cake that looked absolutely irresistible in the picture. I've made it several times since, in cake, cupcake, and mini-cupcake form. And I've made the frosting both with and without chocolate. Either way, the frosting is heavenly. It's got the light airy texture of whipped cream, but with the added richness of the mascarpone cheese. And the cake is delicate, with a nice flavor of both chocolate and espresso. Definitely a great combination, and one I'll be making many times over in the future!

SWEET SCIENCE:
What is mascarpone cheese?
Mascarpone cheese is a very rich and creamy spreadable cheese from the Lombardy region of Italy. It is made from cow's milk that has been enriched with double to triple-cream, which gives it a high butterfat content (hence it's buttery, rich taste).


 
RECIPE:
Chocolate-Espresso Cupcakes with Chocolate-Mascarpone Frosting
from Bon Appetit, April 2009
makes 2 9-inch cakes, 24 cupcakes, or 50 mini cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt (I always use kosher)
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
3 large eggs
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 3/4 cup hot water

FROSTING
1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1.5 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 8-ounce containers mascarpone cheese, CHILLED

DIRECTIONS:
CAKE:
Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 325F.
For cake, grease 2 9" cake pans and dust with flour (I always cut a round of parchment to cover the bottom of the pan).
For cupcakes, line tins with paper liners.

Sift cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth. Add brown sugar and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Ad flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions, beating just until blended after each addition. Gradually add hot espresso-water mixture, beating just until smooth.
Divide batter between two cake pans, or scoop into cupcake liners (I like to use an ice-cream scoop). Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean.

For cakes, bake about 40 minutes. Cool in pans on a rack for about 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans to loosen the cakes and invert them onto the racks. Remove parchment and flip them back over so they rest on their flat sides. Cool completely. Either frost or wrap in plastic to store at room temperature, or wrap in double plastic and aluminum foil to freeze.

For cupcakes, bake about 25 minutes (depends on size of pans). Cool in pans on a rack until cool enough to pop out. For mini-cupcakes, bake about 15 minutes.

FROSTING:
Sift cocoa powder into large bowl; add espresso powder. Bring 1 cup of cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Slowly pour cream over cocoa mixture, whisking until cocoa is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup cream and sugar; stir until sugar dissolves. Cover and chill until cold, at least 2 hours. (Can be made several days ahead, keep chilled)

Add mascarpone to chilled cocoa mixture. Using electric mixer, beat on low speed until blended and smooth. Increase speed to medium-high; beat until mixture is thick and medium-firm peaks form when beaters are lifted, about 2 minutes (do not overbeat or mixture will curdle).

Decorate, show off, and eat!

If you must wait to eat these... or if there are leftovers (what?!), make sure you chill them to preserve the cream and cheese used in the frosting.