Birthdays/Girls' Night & Farewells

I hope you all are had a great summer! I know I did! It has been packed with activities and events! These Tiramisu cupcakes were originally for my best friend Laura's mom's birthday. I never knew they would be such a hit! But why wouldn't they? They are cupcakes soaked in espresso & rum, and topped with the most delicious marscapone cream ever! After Laura's mom's day, they were requested at a farewell luncheon for one of my dear coworkers, Nicole. She is leaving us to move on to bigger and better things, but she is always in our hearts!! We miss you already NF! Naturally, I had a million cupcakes left over (since I'm still having trouble portioning my ingredients!) So why not bring them to girls' night? This was a special girls' night- my good friend Bree had just gotten  back from her honeymoon! It was great to catch up, and of course indulge in some cake (and a late night ice cream run)!

In addition to all of these great events happening, I  decided to finally take the step, and make my business Facebook "official." It has been kind of weird, & stressful (I do have a full time, exhausting job), but I'm glad I did it. Of course my family thinks it's just a joke, but hey- if this is in the cards, then so be it! I'm having fun, and that's all that matters! So for all of you who have not already been harassed to follow me on Facebook, here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/sweetmandysweets. So without further adieu, here are these perfect little Tiramisu cupcakes!!

Mixing away

I started out with a basic vanilla cake recipe (or use whatever boxed mix you like- it tastes the same- I promise you!)
I decided to put away my favorite batter dispenser (sorry Melis!) for a little while- I finally realized that a full ice cream scoop gets me the perfect amount of batter in each cup!


While these were baking, I made a delicious syrup of fresh brewed espresso (being Italian, this is a staple in our house!), sugar, and Kahlua. While the espresso was hot, I added the sugar and kahlua in- so that everything would meld together perfectly. Once it cooled, I was able to put it in this cute little squeeze bottle!

As soon as the cakes came out of the oven, I went to town with a wooden skewer, making a bunch of holes in each one, so it could soak up all of that delicious coffee mixture! At one point, I decided to just stick the top of squeeze bottle into the cakes, so they could get even more of that coffee goodness.


I had to let these babies sit for at least a half hour to make sure everything was all soaked in there. Note- it will make kind of a mess of your cupcake pan, but that's what soap and water is for!

While these were cooling- I made the absolute most delicious frosting EVER. I promise you. It's a mixture of marscapone, cream cheese, vanilla extract, a little kahlua, & confectioner's sugar on the left; & then you fold freshly whipped cream (RIGHT) into it. It seriously can't be bad. Nothing can be bad if it has whipped cream in it!!

After the folding, you get this very light, airy, creamy, yummy mixture. It is pretty much exactly the kind of cream you would get in a traditional tiramisu. I'm not gonna lie- it was hard to not just grab a spoon and just eat this straight out of the bowl.

After a quick little pipe with the traditional swirl tip (I have no idea what number tip it is, lol) they are almost perfect...

These little espresso pillows are the perfect topping for these cupcakes. The description on the package sold me instantly.

A little dusting of cocoa powder, and we're in business! One VERY handsome boy at work told me they were my best ones yet! I might have to agree with him...and not just because he's cute!
So that's it for now. We'll see what happens for me in the next few months- good things I hope! Side note- I have a new email address for cupcake ordering: mandysweetcupcakes@gmail.com! Thanks in advance! Enjoy what's left of the summer, and until next time...

Perfect amount of batter!

Delicious coffee syrup

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Fill 'em while they're hot! 

Need to rest a bit before the big icing!

Marscapone/Cream cheese mixture (LEFT)  & Fresh whipped cream (RIGHT)

Literally the most delicious thing. 

So cute! 

Perfect toppers! 

The finished product!!