Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Cream Frosting

Well Jessica has been shy to post anything so far, so I'll post something for her ;) I first had these tasty muffins at her house and they are great! This is a Food Network recipe and I alter it a little when I make it at home. I substitute 2 cups of the flour for whole wheat flour, sometimes I put a little wheat germ in as well, but I can never remember how to alter the proportions to use wheat germ. Also I use a little less sugar (I know you're not supposed to mess with the proportions when baking, but it doesn't seem to affect it too much and I think there's really too much sugar in this recipe). The frosting is super yummy, but sometimes I just don't have the mascarpone (or feel like buying it) so I just eat them plain or put a little butter on top. We like walnuts so I add some to the muffin mix. This is great when you buy too many bananas and want to use them up!

Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Cream Frosting

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 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
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions

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

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 the frosting over the muffins. Sprinkle with the walnuts.