Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.  Slice the kumquats into 1/4 inch thin slices and add to pan on medium-low heat with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. While the kumquats are simmering in the sugar syrup, prepare the cupcake batter.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and dash of salt.

In another small bowl, combine the ricotta, orange zest, and lemon zest.

Mix the ricotta and the zests together and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, adding the eggs in one at a time until combined.

Beat in the melted butter.

On medium-low speed, beat in the ricotta, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla extract.

On medium-low speed, beat in the sifted flour in small portions until the dough is nicely combined stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Make sure all the flour is combined and the dough is smooth.

Pour the dough into 12 muffin tins lined with paper cases (they should be filled at 3/4 of their height), and bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes in the oven until golden. Allow to cool on a rack

.

Kumquat-Lemon Glaze

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the sugar syrup from when you simmered the kumquats.

Add the confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice and mix will. If the glaze is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar until you get a dense consistency.

Spoon the glaze over the cupcakes. Add a kumquat or a few to the top and enjoy the sweetness!