Pumpkin Cupcakes with Whipped Mascarpone Frosting

Happy November 1st friends!

Let's usher in the countdown to Thanksgiving, because that's all November is really good for anyways. 

And for you all, I will share some treats that will work for Thanksgiving cooking from here on out. The first being these ridiculously delicious pumpkin cupcakes. 

The way I see it, it's pretty difficult to massacre pumpkin related desserts, they have always turned out great for me. But there are some tips to have them come out next level. For example, whenever I use Trader Joe's brand canned pumpkin puree my pumpkin pie filling turns out completely bleh. Baking is all about learning what works. 

I decided to make a light whipped cream mascarpone frosting for these because: a) cupcakes need frosting to look pretty, b) frosting is gross c) whipped cream is delicious.

My recipe is based off of this one from the Brown Eyed Baker. I mostly adjusted the sugar and the spice amounts. I like my pumpkin desserts extra spiced.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Dash of salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

A heaping 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

3/4 cup pumpkin puree (I measured it as "heaping" quarters, so mine ended up with more pumpkin)

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs at room temp.

Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup mascarpone

1/4 cup soft butter

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Directions:

• Set your oven to 350º and line a cupcake tin. 

• In a medium bowl blend the flour, baking soda, powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.

• In the bowl of your mixer, blend the pumpkin puree, brown sugar and vegetable oil for about three minutes.

• Mix in the eggs, one by one.

• Add the flour, little by little, blending after each addition.

• Scoop the batter into the cupcake tin and cook for about 20 minutes. Each oven varies so keep an eye on them, they could take longer than my cooking time. 

• Let cool

Frosting:

• Whip the cream into stiff peaks. 

• Blend the mascarpone, butter and sugar (make sure not to blend them too much or they come out looking a little curdled. I made that mistake, but it still tasted delicious).

• Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mix. 

• Frost your cupcakes after they have fully cooled. This frosting is very light and creamy and will melt right off if you put it on hot cupcakes.