Raspberry White Chocolate Almond Cupcakes

Hey there! The past two weeks have been loaded with decadent chocolate, so I’ve been in the mood for something bright and fresh. As you can see, we’re still keeping the chocolate, but this week, it’s white chocolate! (Not always my favorite, but when you pair it with raspberries, HOLY COW!)

Some of my favorite things about this recipe:

·        Light, fluffy cake

·        THE RASPBERRIES! This is, hands down, my favorite fruit!

·        The sweet, light frosting makes these cupcakes a blank slate for creative decorating.

·        Assembly is easy as 1-2-3!

·        You can eat the ugly ones, and no one will know! (Don’t judge me).

As far as difficulty goes, on a scale of 1-10, I give this cake batter a 5. There are a couple of things that can be easy to mess up if you don’t know to watch yourself. Firstly, when you are mixing the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, you do not want to overmix! Secondly, in my opinion, recipes that call for you to separate the egg whites and fold them in do two things. 1) They make it very easy to over mix the batter, causing your cake to become too dense. 2) Done correctly, an “egg white cake” (I have just deemed this a new term), gives cake a wonderfully fluffy texture. As if that fine line wasn’t enough to give you second thoughts, you will be adding cream of tartar and sugar during the beating process. It’s a lot simpler than it seems though. So, don’t be scared! I am here to walk you through it!

The filling and frosting for this recipe are both very simple, and the amount of ingredients you use can be altered based on your preferences. They are SERIOUSLY so easy!

 I have some bad news! Poor Charlotte was sick this week, and was not able to help me! But… if you check back in a day or two, I’ll be sure to update with a picture of her enjoying this delicious creation!

Don’t forget to leave comments in the space below! Now, what to do next week?? Any ideas?

Raspberry White Chocolate Almond Cupcakes Yield: SERVES 24-36 Prep time: 45 minutes  Bake time: 15-20 minutes Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes (includes cooling and decoration time)

Ingredients: Almond Cupcake: 1 ¾ cups Cake Flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt ½ cup of brown sugar 2/3 cup granulated sugar (split) 5 eggs, separated ½ cup of canola oil ½ cup buttermilk ½ Tbl almond extract ½ tsp cream of tartar

Raspberry Filling: 1 ½ cups frozen raspberries 1-2 Tbl cornstarch 2 Tbl lemon juice 1/3 cup sugar

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting: 2 cups butter, softened 3 cups powdered sugar 2 cup white chocolate chips, melted Milk as needed

Directions: For the cupcakes: 1.       Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour or line cupcake pans. Set aside. 2.       Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk in brown sugar and 1/3 cup granulated sugar. * 3.       In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, oil, almond extract, and buttermilk. Set aside. 4.       In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, Beat the egg whites at medium speed. When the egg whites become frothy, add cream of tartar, and gradually increase speed to high. Beat until soft peaks form. 5.       Reduce mixer speed to medium, and slowly add the remaining 1/3 granulated sugar. Return mixer speed to high, and beat until stiff, shiny peaks form. 6.       Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. 7.       Fold in the egg whites 1/3 at a time. Be careful not to over mix. 8.       Add about ¼ - 1/3 cup batter to prepared cupcake pan. Bake about 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Don’t worry if they don’t brown very much. 9.       Let cool in pan before removing and decorating.

For the Raspberry Filling: ** 1.       In a saucepan over medium heat, combine frozen raspberries and sugar. Stir until raspberries have turned to liquid.*** 2.       Add cornstarch 1Tbl at a time, and stir until you’ve reached the desired consistency. Keep in mind this will thicken as it cools.**** 3.       Add lemon juice, stir until completely combined, and allow to cool or chill overnight.

For the White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting: 1.       In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, beat butter on low speed until soft, and begin gradually adding the powdered sugar (about 1 Tbl at a time). Beat until fully combined. 2.       Assure that the white chocolate is at room temperature, and then add to the mixture. Mix until fully combined. 3.       If the icing is a little bit too thick and difficult to pipe or spread, add small amounts of milk (no more than a teaspoon at a time) and mix well until you reach your preferred consistency, keeping in mind, it will become more workable as it chills. Chill at least 15 minutes.*****

To Assemble: 1.       After the cakes have completely cooled, begin filling the cakes with the raspberry filling. I like to use my filling gun for this, but I have also found that a piping bag with a star tip works very well. 2.       Select your piping tip, and get to frosting! 3.       Garnish with a fresh raspberry.

Recipe Notes *If you do not have a sifter, you can use a small strainer. That’s what I do, and if you don’t have one of those, a whisk will be fine. **I recommend making the filling in advance to give it plenty of time to chill and thicken before filling your cupcakes. ***If you would like a filling without seeds, you can strain the raspberry mixture. This takes time, and may be worth it, but I usually skip this step. ****I like my filling to be VERY thick, like jelly. Adding the cornstarch 1 Tbl will allow you to pick your perfect consistency. AND, don’t forget, it will get thicker in the refrigerator. *****I usually do not add milk. If you think the icing is too runny, add more confectioner sugar, but keep in mind it will become a more workable consistency after it chills.