Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting

It has been a long time since I've posted a cupcake recipe...so sorry. Of course I made cupcakes for Mother's Day...amaretto actually..but I failed to take a picture.

I had half a container of mascarpone cheese that needed a home and I stumbled upon a new blog....well new to me..a cup of mascarpone. Such a cute name for a blog! May be a bit biased because I love mascarpone. The recipe calls for special dark cocoa and I was not too sure I had seen this in the grocery store. I asked my mom and she said "Oh that is right next to the regular cocoa." Of course mom always knows these things. Sure enough "regular" cocoa was sitting beside the special dark cocoa. I guess they are supermarket buddies...haha.

If you are a one bowl baker, then this recipe is for you. It could not have been easier. Dump all the ingredients into the mixer and let that bad boy (Kitchen Aid mixer) do it's thing. Special dark cocoa really makes for a beautiful dark chocolate color. I'm regretting not snapping a picture. Carol was right, the batter is very thin. I still used an ice cream scoop and was prepared for a mess.

A while back I purchased white cupcake liners by Wilton and I will not do that again. The liners are too big for my cupcake pan so they fold and then there are creases in the cupcakes. Also, it makes it hard to tell how much batter is in the well so some cupcakes came out too big. Does anyone ever really complain about a cupcake that is too big? I mean really that is just more room for icing, right?

The mascarpone frosting with more special dark cocoa is to die for....okay dramatic. I mean butter and mascarpone in one bowl....oh yeah! For some reason my frosting has a different color than Carol's and the consistency does not look as smooth. Oh well it still tastes wonderful and was approved by my small group and coworkers.

I like how Carol ends her blog posts...Mangia! xox...adorable. So with that Mangia!

 

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Mascarpone Buttercream

                       Makes approximately 30 cupcakes

Ingredients:

 

for the cupcakes:

2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Hershey's "Special Dark" Cocoa

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water or 1 cup hot brewed coffee

for the mascarpone buttercream:

4 ounces (1/2 of an 8 ounce tub) mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup Hershey's "Special Dark" Cocoa

2 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 16 ounce box powdered sugar, sifted

 

Create the cupcakes and buttercream:

 

make the cupcakes:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pans (2-1/2" in diameter) with paper baking cups. Set aside.

 

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of hand mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water or hot coffee (batter will be thin).

Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 - 25 minutes. Place on wire racks and remove from the pans as soon as they're able to be touched without burning yourself. Cool completely on wire racks before frosting. (I only bake one pan at a time and turn the pan half way through the baking cycle.)

make the mascarpone buttercream:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese, butter, cocoa powder, milk and vanilla with an electric stand mixer on medium to high speed until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Beat in enough additional milk (only if needed), 1 teaspoon at a time, to reach consistency needed for cupcakes. Makes 3 cups.