Here’s something I can never seem to tire of: cupcakes. You probably already have favorite chocolate cupcake and yellow cupcake recipes (if not, don’t worry- I’ll share my recipe for those soon enough!), and today I want to share with you another one that will definitely go on your list of favorites. That is, if you like moist, creamy cupcakes.

And you do, don’t you?

But wait, before you begin reading the recipe below, I must warn you: it includes a box of white cake mix.

Ah, so that’s why I titled this “Elevating the Ordinary”! Let me tell you, though, that there isn’t anything ordinary about these cupcakes.

The secret of these cupcakes is that they’re made with mascarpone- a creamy, delicious Italian cheese that is simply like no other. The stuff is not cheap, certainly, but that’s another reason why these cupcakes taste so good: they’re decadent. You can, of course, try substituting regular cream cheese (Philly or otherwise), which should work nicely, but if you can, please, please try these with mascarpone. They’re from a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis, but while the lovely Giada makes them in mini sizes, I like to use my standard sized cupcake pan for these.

Mascarpone Cupcakes

8 oz. mascarpone cheese
2 egg whites
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I like to use Sunflower or Safflower. The more flavorless, the better!)
1 box white cake mix
1 cup water

Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

Combine mascarpone, egg whites and oil in a large bowl. Beat with a stand or hand mixer until combined and creamy. Add white cake mix and water all at once, and mix on LOW speed until smooth, until incorporated- but don’t overmix.

Fill cupcake pan 2/3rds full, and bake around 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frost with American Buttercream or Italian Meringue Buttercream and top with your favorite sprinkles- or, as in the mouthwatering photo above, with little curls of white and dark chocolate.