Churro Cupcakes with Cinnamon Mascarpone Frosting

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan(s) with cupcake liners; set aside. Recipe makes 18 cupcakes.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

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 it 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.

Mix the 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon with the 1/2 cup sugar. 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.

For the filling:

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 a corner 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.

For the frosting:

With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to over beat, or cream will be grainy). In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone, cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Use immediately. After frosting the cupcakes, sprinkle a little bit of the left over cinnamon-sugar onto the frosting.

Cupcake recipe by Bakingdom; filling recipe by The Sweet Chick; frosting recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.