Mascarpone Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze

I discovered these cupcakes last summer while watching Everyday Italian. I never got around to making them again to share on here so now that it is officially springtime it was perfect timing for strawberry cupcakes.

Even though my kitchen table was still covered with 150 or so wedding cake cookies I made enough room to bake them Easter morning for lunch at my grandmothers. As it turns out my grandmother made a strawberry shortcake and there was also a strawberry truffle, so everyone got their share of strawberry desserts today. Since the glaze is really runny I waited til right before to ice them. I'm sure this could be fixed by adding more sugar or less strawberries. My cousins, Jessica, Hunter, and Madison, were great help at icing them(it must be the baking genes).

But to the recipe- it's really simple. The only complicated part is actually finding Mascarpone cheese. It's similar to cream cheese though, so I've used cream cheese before too and they turned out just as good. The cupcake is really fluffy and light. Then the strawberry glaze just turns it into springtime in cupcake form. It just may be my favorite cupcake.

Mascarpone Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze

8 ounces mascarpone cheese (about 1 cup), softened

2 egg whites

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 box white cake mix

1 cup water

1/3 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and drained

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin tins with paper liners.
In a large bowl combine the mascarpone cheese, egg whites and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, beat the ingredients until combined and creamy. Add the cake mix and water and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Fill the muffin cups to just below the rim and bake until puffed and golden, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly in the tin then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack.
Meanwhile, puree the strawberries in a blender or small food processor. Place the powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Pour in the strawberry puree and whisk until smooth. Top the cooled cupcakes with the strawberry glaze. Let the cupcakes sit for a few minutes for the glaze to firm up, then serve.

Bridal Shower Petit Fours

Raspberry Linzer Cookies

3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup good raspberry preserves
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/4-inch thick and cut 2 3/4-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. With 1/2 of the rounds, cut a hole from the middle of each round with a heart or spade shaped cutter. Place all the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes.

Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Spread raspberry preserves on the flat side of each solid cookie. Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with confectioners' sugar and press the flat sides together, with the raspberry preserves in the middle and the confectioners' sugar on the top.