Churro Cupcakes with Cinnamon Mascarpone Frosting
I ran across a recipe for churro cupcakes online and immediately thought of the yummy fried pastry, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and filled with warm gooey dulce de leche that one of our Argentinian friends made for us. For Argentinians, they just aren’t churros unless they are filled with dulce de leche. I can agree to that one. I had my fair share of dulce de leche when I visited Buenos Aires two years ago with my husband to visit his family. I think they put it in or on just about anything. It’s good stuff. One day I will try to make some myself, but for now I will continue to buy it at the store. As a busy mom, recipes need to be kept easy.
So anyway, I knew that if I made churro cupcakes, they had to be filled with dulce de leche. I had some left over from my recent recipes, so it worked out good. First I picked out a recipe for the cupcakes. I chose one from Bakingdom-But I didn’t want a cream cheese frosting, so I chose a mascarpone frosting from Martha Stewart You can’t go wrong with Martha.
Churro Cupcakes with Cinnamon Mascarpone Frosting
by The Sweet Chick
Prep Time: 20-30 min.
Cook Time: 14-16 min.
Keywords: bake dessert cinnamon dulce de leche mascarpone cheese cupcake
Ingredients (18 cupcakes)
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 (1 stick) cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
FOR THE CINNAMON SUGAR
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
FOR THE FILLING
- 3/4 cup dulce de leche
- 1/4 cup sour cream
FOR THE FROSTING
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
To make the cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners; set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until just combined then stir in the vanilla. Sprinkle 1/3 of the flour mixture over the butter mixture and gently stir in until barely combined. Add half of the milk, mixing until just combined. Repeat these steps with the remaining flour mixture and milk, ending with the flour. Do not over mix.
Fill each muffin cup with 2 tablespoons of batter. I used a measuring spoon. Bake the cupcakes for 14 to 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool for 2 to 3 minutes, then dip the top of each cupcake into the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat it. You really have to smush them in there to get it to stick. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before filling.
To fill the cupcakes
Combine the dulce de leche with the sour cream and mix well. The sour cream makes the dulce de leche less sticky and easier to pipe. Put the mixture into a piping bag or a thick plastic bag with the edge snipped off. Make a hole in each of the cupcakes, making sure you do not go all the way to the bottom. I used an apple corer. It worked quite well. Then pipe the mixture into each cupcake and fill to the top.
To make the frosting
With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat, or cream will be grainy). In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone, cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Use immediately. After frosting the cupcakes, sprinkle a little bit of the left over cinnamon-sugar onto the frosting.
I made a good match with these recipes. The cupcakes were a perfect blend of cinnamon and dulce de leche. And the frosting was like eating a cloud from heaven. It was well worth the extra money for the mascarpone cheese. Just looking at this picture makes me want to lick the screen. I will go compose myself now.
Cupcake recipe by Bakingdom
Filling recipe by The Sweet Chick
Frosting recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Better Than S’Mores Mini Cupcakes
I have been wanting to try Biscoff cupcakes for that past week. But I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to turn them into s’mores. The Biscoff is a bit sweeter than a graham cracker, but I though if I used a dark chocolate ganache to fill them, it might balance out the sweetness. What?? Me, make something less sweet?? Ask anyone who knows me and they would think something was wrong. But have no fear, sometimes it’s all worth it in the end. And these absolutely were. Topped with a marshmallow fluff frosting, these puppies came out better than expected, better than a s’mores!
Don’t mind my upside down flour bag. It had a hole in the bottom, so I had put it that way, otherwise that kitchen would look like a snowstorm had passed through.
| For the ganache filling |
filled cupcakes
At this point feel free to take any defect cupcake and pop it into your mouth. It is for quality control purposes only. Since it was late at night when I made the frosting, I forgot to take any pictures.
Of course before I went to bed I had to try one and gave one to my husband to try so I wouldn’t feel so guilty. Oh god, they were delicious. I am glad I made them bite size, the blend of tastes it just perfect. Unfortunately, that just means I will eat more.
Better Than S’Mores Mini Cupcakes
by The Sweet Chick
Prep Time: 20-30 minutes
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
Keywords: bake dessert biscoff marshmallow fluff chocolate ganache cupcake
Ingredients (24 mini cupcakes)
For the Biscoff Cupcakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup Biscoff spread
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Ganache Filling
- 12 ounces chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I used a 3.5oz bar of Lindt dark chocolate and about 3/4 of a 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips)
- 1 cup heavy cream
For the Marshmallow Fluff Frosting
- 1/2 stick butter, softened
- 2 cups marshmallow fluff
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon Wilton meringue powder
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the Biscoff Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350º F and fill muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Place flour, sugar, salt and baking soda into a large bowl, mix to combine. Set aside.
In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, place oil, sour cream, Biscoff spread, eggs and vanilla into the bowl and mix on medium speed until well incorporated. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix thoroughly, about 30 seconds. Spoon batter into prepared mini cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 10-15 or until toothpick inserted in center comes out dry. Remove and let cool completely.
(For regular sized cupcakes, bake 18-22 minutes).
Recipe by healthyfoodforliving.com/recipes
For the Chocolate Ganache Filling
Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl.
Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy.
Allow ganache to cool. The longer you allow the ganache to cool, the thicker it will set. You can place it in the fridge to cool faster. The ganache needs to be completely cooled before piping it in the cupcakes.
While the ganache is cooling cut a hole in the middle of each cupcake and scoop out the center (not all the way to the bottom). I used a vegetable peeler, but you can also try a apple corer.
With a frosting piping bag or a plastic freezer bag with tip cut off, pipe the ganache filling into each cupcake and place back in the fridge.
Recipe by https://www.healthyfoodforliving.com/recipes/
For the Marshmallow Fluff Frosting
In a stand up mixer or using a hand mixer, blend butter and marshmallow fluff until smooth.
Sift in confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder and beat on low speed.
Add vanilla and milk and increase speed to high. Beat for 1 minute.
Using a frosting piping bag and your favorite tip, frost each cupcake and place back in fridge to set.
Recipe by The Sweet Chick