Sweet Potato Casserole Cupcakes {Homemade Marshmallow Frosting}

Cook Sweet Potatoes:

1. Peel and cut your sweet potatoes into 1 inch cubes. It doesn’t have to be exact. You just want them to be roughly the same size, so they cook evenly. Place in a small saucepot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to medium and continue to cook until very tender and can easily be pierced with a fork. Drain and mash with a spoon, puree with an immersion blender, or press through a ricer (my favorite because it gets out some of the strings).

Make the Topping (Optional)

1. Mix all the topping ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside.

Make the Cupcakes:

1. Preheat your oven to 350° and line 16 muffin tins with liners (I use 2 plain liners).
2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, salt and all spices; set aside.
3. In a large bowl on in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream sugars, butter, and lemon zest together with a hand mixer until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the vanilla with the last egg.
4. Add the sweet potato puree and mix on medium until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds.
5. Alternately add flour and milk, beginning and ending with flour. I add a third of the flour then half of the milk and repeat. Fold the last flour addition in by hand to avoid over mixing.
6. Scoop into prepared tins, filling almost to the top of the cup. Add a generous amount of topping the top of each cupcake, pressing some down inside. Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few clinging crumbs. Mine took 17 minutes.
7. Remove immediately from muffin tins to cool completely on a wire rack.

Assemble the Cupcakes:

1. Once cupcakes are cool, frost with your favorite piping tip! You can spread the frosting on but it will be messy and you will probably be covered in marshmallow fluff by the time you are done.
2. Toast the frosting with a kitchen torch or under a broiler. The frosting is delicious untoasted, so that is always an option.