Halloween cupcake contest and tiramisu cupcakes

Ingredients

• 3 teaspoons . instant espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons . vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon. hot water
• 2 and 3/4 cups unsifted All-Purpose flour, King Arthur
• 1/4 cup unsifted cake flour
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablepsoon. Dutch processed cocoa
• 1/8 teaspoons . baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoons . baking soda
• 1 teaspoons . salt
• 1/2 libra. unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 5 eggs, large
• 1 cup sour cream, thick style
• 2 tablepsoons . heavy cream

Tiramisu filling and Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 3 large eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 (8-oz) container mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup chilled heavy cream
• 1 8oz package cream cheese

Ganache:

• 8 oz dark chocolate, chopped
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• ¼ cup honey

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Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare two cupcake pans with liners. Stir together the espresso powder, vanilla extract, and hot water in a very small bowl.
• Onto a large sheet of parchment or wax paper, sift together the flour, cake flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In a medium size bowl, toss the chocolate pieces with about 1 tablepsoon . of this flour mixture. Set both aside. In the large bowl of your mixer, cream the butter on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl.
• Pour in the granulated sugar in 3 additions, mixing for about 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the bowl frequently to ensure even mixing. Add in all of the brown sugar and beat for 1 more minute. Scrape again.
  
• One at a time, add in the eggs, beating for 45 seconds after each one. Scrape!
  Blend in the espresso mixture. n low speed, add in the sifted ingredients alternately with the sour cream (3 additions of flour and 2 additions of the sour cream).
• Scrape after each addition. Blend in the heavy cream. Fill cups ¾ full and bake for 30 minutes. Once cupcakes are cool, cut a cone shape out of each one. Slice the cap off of the cone and set aside the rest in a bowl.
• Fill with tiramisu filling and replace the cap on each cupcake. Crumble the cake bits into crumbs.
  Dip each cupcake in slightly warm ganache and sprinkle cake bits on top.
• Put a fondant mummy head on top, pipe the body out of ganache and add mummy wrappings with the fortified cream cheese/tiramisu frosting.
  
• Tiramisu filling and Cream Cheese Frosting:
  Beat together yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Beat in mascarpone until just combined. Beat whites with a pinch of salt in another bowl with cleaned beaters until they just hold soft peaks. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time, beating, then continue to beat whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat cream in another bowl with cleaned beaters until it just holds soft peaks. Fold cream into mascarpone mixture gently but thoroughly, then fold in whites. Once the mixture has been used to fill the cupcakes, whip the cream cheese until soft in a separate bowl, add in whatever is left over of the tiramisu filling and whip together. This will give you a stiffer frosting to pipe the mummy shapes with.
• Ganache:
  Put chocolate into a bowl and combine the rest of the ingredients in a small pot set over high heat. Stir until honey is incorporated, butter has melted, and just until the first bubbles appear around the edges. Pour over chocolate, let sit for 2 minutes and then whisk together until well blended.