Espresso Chiffon Cupcakes with Fudge Frosting

60 recipes on this thing in a little over 2 months.  Not bad, right?  I've been a little slow in posting this month, but I also haven't been cooking as much because things have been busy.  These are amazing though ... do not pass on this recipe!  The original recipe is a cake, but I turned them into cupcakes, as those are easier to take to deliver and share with people.  The best part of the recipe?  The leftover frosting and syrup!  Even though I halved the fudge frosting, I still had quite a bit left over.  In a stroke of deliciousness, I combined the leftover frosting and syrup into a delicious mixture of butter, sugar, chocolate, espresso, and rum.  A few nights later, I had some friends over for sushi.  Someone brought delicious chocolate chip cookies.  Chocolate cookies + spiked fudge frosting = a little taste of heaven!

Espresso Chiffon Cupcakes with Fudge Frosting (from Smitten Kitchen) (from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes)

Ingredients

1/4 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as soybean, canola or vegetable blend
6 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons freshly brewed espresso, cooled to room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, egg yolks, espresso and vanilla; whisk lightly to blend. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, 1 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set the dry ingredients aside.
3. In a large mixer bowl with an electric mixture, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium-low speed until frothy. Raising the mixer speed to medium-high and gradually add the remaining half cup of sugar. Continue to beat until soft peaks form; do not whip until stiff or the cake will shirk excessively upon cooling.
Add the espresso-egg yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together just enough to combine. Add one-fourth of the beaten egg whites and fold them in to lighten the batter. Fold in the remainder of the whites just until no streaks remain. Divide the batter among the three prepared pans.
4. Bake the cupcakes for about 18 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Soak the cupcake with Espresso Syrup (below). Ice with Instant Fudge Frosting (below).

Espresso Syrup
Makes one cup
1/3 cup hot, freshly brewed espresso
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup dark rum, such as Meyer’s
1. In a bowl, stir together the espresso and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Add the rum and let cool to room temperature.

Instant Fudge Frosting
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar (no need to sift)
3/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons half-and-half or whole milk
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to incorporate, then process until the frosting is smooth (or beat with a stand mixer).