Amarula cupcakes with cinnamon mousse frosting

I'd been waiting to bake these ever since I bought a bottle of Amarula Cream on the suggestion of a (gay?) guy who turned out to be a one-date wonder. I don't tend to drink creamy drinks; I'd rather have a glass of wine, a dram of single malt, or hell, a glass of water.

But as a cupcake flavoring, bwah! Amarula Cream is awesome. I finally had the occasion to break out the bottle on the occasion of Pam's birthday, and will definitely be baking these again. The combination of Amarula and cinnamon flavors was beautiful, so subtle, sheer bliss.

Amarula Cupcakes

1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup Amarula Cream liqueur

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tin with cupcake cups.
In your stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla extract. Add the leavening, salt, and half the flour, then the Amarula, then the rest of the flour.

Scoop batter into cupcake cups and bake for about 20 minutes. Cakes will be golden and, inexplicably, freckled with lemon yellow.

Frost with Cinnamon Mousse Frosting:

1 c (1 8oz carton) heavy cream
1 tsp cinnamon, or more if you're using really good Vietnamese cinnamon
4 oz white chocolate
1 c (1 8oz tub) mascarpone cheese

Chop the chocolate and dump in your mixing bowl. Pour the cream over top and nuke the bowl, 30 seconds at a time, whisking vigorously after each go, until the chocolate is melted and you've emulsified it into the cream. Whisk in cinnamon, then chill overnight.

The next morning, fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment and pour half the ganache into the bowl. Add the mascarpone and whip until well combined, roughly 2 minutes. Add the other half of the ganache, and beat until the frosting holds stiff peaks. Pipe over cupcakes and garnish with ... well ... I'm boring, I garnish everything with my Spanish dragees.