



I'll be completely honest. I used banana-nut cake mix from the box to make these beautiful little treats. I did however use a ripe banana and fresh walnuts for added flavor. They turned out fabulous.
They were moist and flavorful and gone in 3 minutes. No joke, even Mia scarfed down a few while nobody was watching. I used the last of the figs this fall to garnish. They tasted amazing and I needed to include them in this recipe. Having a fig tree at home is a beautiful pleasure. If you don't have one, I suggest you start growing one today.
This mascarpone frosting can be paired with nearly anything. I frosted my grilled peaches with it last month, and plan to garnish espresso with it next month (stay tuned).
INGREDIENTS
FOR BANANA-NUT CUPCAKES
- 1 box of banana-nut cake mix
- 1/3 cup of oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 cup of walnuts
- 3 ripe figs
FOR MASCARPONE FROSTING
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 8 oz. mascarpone cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
DIRECTIONS
- Heat oven to 350°F. Spray cupcake pans with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, beat dry cake mix, oil, eggs, bananas and walnuts until well mixed. Divide batter in cupcake pans evenly.
- Bake as directed or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out dry.
- Cool on cooling rack for about 30 minutes or until completely dry.
- In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone and confectioners' sugar until smooth.
- Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Frost immediately and garnish with a slice of fig and drizzled honey.