Angel Food Cupcakes

By stancec44

These cupcakes are the perfect spring or summer treat—light and airy angel food cake is topped with a tangy lemon-mascarpone frosting and garnished with fresh berries.

Ingredients

• FOR THE FROSTING:
• 3⁄4 cup cake flour
• 3⁄4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 6 egg whites
• 3⁄4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1⁄2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened
• 1 cup blackberries, raspberries, or quartered strawberries
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier

Details

Servings 12
Adapted from saveur.com

Preparation

Step 1

Make the cupcakes:

Heat oven to 325°. In a bowl, sift together flour and confectioners' sugar; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar and vanilla, and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Add sifted flour mixture and gently fold until smooth; fill 12 muffin tin cups lined with cupcake liners to the top with batter. Bake until lightly browned, about 25 minutes; let cool completely.

Make the frosting:

In a bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla, salt, and zest on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until smooth. Add confectioners's sugar and juice, and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gently stir in mascarpone, and then transfer frosting to a small piping bag or plastic bag fitted with a ⅜" plain tip; pipe a thick ring of frosting around the top each cupcake.

To serve, toss together berries, sugar, and liqueur in a small bowl and let sit to meld flavors, about 10 minutes; top cupcakes with berries just before serving.