Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Cream Frosting

I will contain myself and not eat these for breakfast.  These are my idea of the perfect banana muffin.  Moist, full of banana flavour and decked out with frosting!!  They are not "healthy" muffins, lots of sugar and oil went into these puppies.  I don't really consider muffins healthy in any form, so nutrition is not a factor when determining my muffin perfection. They taste just like a good, deeply flavoured banana bread, and the addition of the lightly sweetened, tart and creamy mascarpone cheese really bumps up their delish factor.  They would be a welcomed addition to a brunch spread or enjoy them as an afternoon snack with coffee or tea.

Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Cream Frosting
Origin: Food Network, Giada De Laurentiis

Notes:  These are perfectly good banana muffins without the frosting, but really, how can you not try the honey kissed Mascarpone Cream.  So good.  I think I over did it this time with piping my frosting, I ran out before finishing the entire batch.  Usually the amount of frosting is just enough for a little schmear on each muffin.  If you want big puffy icing clouds on your muffins, you should double the frosting recipe.

Ingredients:

Muffins
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed

Frosting
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons honey

Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend.

Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly.  The muffins may be eaten warm or cooled completely and frosted.

To frost the cupcakes, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the mascarpone cheese and then beat in the honey. Spread or pipe the frosting over the muffins.