Mango Cupcakes (with Srikhand Frosting)

By jennKI

Srikhand is a sweet and rich mango-cardamom custard, a very popular dessert in India. It can be made with thickened yogurt (greek yogurt) or cream cheese. I've never seen it used as an "icing" but it works PERFECTLY here.

Ingredients

• Cupcakes:
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• Sift all the ingredients into a bowl and set aside.
• In another bowl, beat together until well-mixed:
• 1 1/2 cups mango puree
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Frosting:
• 1 8-oz package cream cheese (do NOT get reduced fat for this)
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 2 oz plain greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• pinch of saffron
• Chopped pistachios

Details

Servings 12
Adapted from rabbitfoodrocks.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Cupcakes:

1. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk just until you have a smooth batter. Do not overmix or overbeat.

2. Divide the batter equally among 12 cups of a standard-sized muffin pan lined with cupcake liners. Smooth down the tops with the back of a spoon or spatula or you will have a lumpy top (it'll still taste delicious, though)

3. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven about 27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.


Frosting:

1. Pulse 8 oz cream cheese in a food processor a few times. Add sugar, cardamom, and greek yogurt. Process until completely smooth. Add pinch of saffron and pulse again, until fully combined. Scrape the sides of the work bowl as needed. Allow to sit for an hour at room temperature. Saffron threads will release some color.

2. Put cream cheese mixture into a piping bag. I used tip #32. If you don't use a tip, no worries. It will still look great. Use the back of a spatula to spread cream cheese on each cupcake.

3. Garnish with chopped pistachios