Red Wine Chocolate Cupcakes

Whenever my parents travel the airline company suffers a great monetary loss. If they're handed anything that fits inside a carry-on odds are I'm later finding it around home. Last week, they came back from a trip to Spain for my brother's graduation. (Congrats grad!) Alongside my gifts they unpacked a six pack of small wine bottles. My goodness. We had a couple with our lunch that day but the others have been sitting around doing nothing ever since. I thought I'd do with them what I do best: cupcakes! I made them mini, because seriously everything "mini" tastes a million times better. I'm sitting here editing with a couple on a plate they're delicious! I bet the whole batch is going to be gone by tomorrow!

For the cupcakes you'll need:

• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
• 3/4 cup red wine (any kind you like)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 1tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the frosting:

• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners or lightly grease the cavities.
• In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Then add in the egg and egg yolk, beating well, then add the red wine and vanilla. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little uneven.
• Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until all combined and well-incorporated.
• Using a large ice cream scoop, divide batter into lined muffin pan. Bake for 20 minutes then remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
• In the meantime, to make the frosting, whip together mascarpone cheese, heavy whipping cream, and granulated sugar until soft peaks form. Put frosting into piping bag with whichever tip you choose, or you can put it into a ziploc bag and snip the corner and pipe that way. Make sure cupcakes are completely cool before you pipe. You don’t want to end up with a melted mess.
• Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Yield: 1 dozen cupcakes | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Source: The Smitten Kitchen