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These White Chocolate Cupcakes are moist, delicious and easy to throw together, with a fancy and festive icing technique.
Ever been to a Princess Party? We had one yesterday and these Swirly-Girly Cupcakes were the stars of the show.... other than the princess of course! I shared on Wednesday that we were headed to visit our daughter and her family in London in order to help with the arrival of a new baby - our first grandSON! We were hoping this little man would hold off just a wee bit longer as we had a little partying to do before his grand entrance into the world. Our middle granddaughter, Elle, was turning five yesterday and we had planned a family celebration.
A few weeks ago, Mommy (Mum) had bought Elle a beautiful white princess gown, The absolute perfect attire for such a festive occasion!
Arriving in London, however, we had a few doubts whether this baby would wait even one more day. As we prepared for the party we were wondering ...
and I bet you'd be wondering too! As you can see, it appeared that this new baby was quite imminent. Well, we all breathed a sigh of relief, a "mission-accomplished" sigh of relief when we concluded Elle's party.
We decided to keep things simple and order pizza for dinner, so I wanted something special and pretty for the birthday dessert. These Swirly-Girly White Chocolate Cupcakes are moist, delicious and easy to throw together. Honestly though, if you're pinched for time, just use a white cake mix. It's okay because the really fun and delicious part is the icing. It will make even a cake mix cupcake taste like it came from a fine bakery! I tried a new technique and it turned out so fancy and festive looking - I'm sure I'll be using it for many special occasions in the future.
Though it looks a bit involved, the technique is really fairly simple. (But we'll keep that our little secret, deal?). I used three different colors, but I think two would work just as well.
Do you know any princes or princesses? No? Well, I believe any family member or dear friend is worthy of a royal celebration! So, check out the technique/recipe below and give it a go - it's a "keeper", for sure!
- 1 & ½ cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ⅓ cup of butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 ounces of good quality white chocolate chips or a 4-ounce white chocolate bar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 cup plus1 tablespoon milk
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Instructions:
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Preheat oven to 325˚F.
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Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners of your choice. (I like to use two contrasting patterns, I add the second one after baking. Also, if you can find the greaseproof liners, they work wonderful. They look just as pretty after baking as before.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
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In another large bowl (or with a stand mixer), cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light & fluffy (2 to 3 minutes).
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Add the eggs in one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the melted white chocolate and vanilla - mix well.
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Add the dry ingredients alternating with the milk in 2 to 3 portions. Mix well after each addition. Divide batter evenly into prepared cupcake pan.
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Bake cupcakes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean or with dry crumbs (about 22 minutes). Let cool completely before frosting.
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Adapted from The Fig Tree
- 2 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 vanilla bean halved and seeds scraped or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 4-6 tablespoons milk
- 6 cups powdered sugar
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Beat cream cheese and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
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Add 4 tablespoons of milk and vanilla bean seeds (or vanilla bean paste or vanilla) beat again for 2 minutes.
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Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. If too thick add a bit more milk, just a teaspoon at a time. If too thin add a bit more powdered sugar. (It needs to be thick enough to hold its shape, but not so thick that you have difficulty swirling the icing through the decorating tip.)
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Prepare icing as directed and divide into two or three bowls, depending on how many colors you want in your swirls. Add food coloring to achieve desired colors. I really like the gel food coloring, it gives much deeper, richer colors and comes in a wide variety of beautiful hues.
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Lay out 2 or 3 (depending on how many colors you are using) pieces of plastic wrap (approximately 18"-20" long) on your work surface. Spread out the contents of each bowl on a separate piece of the plastic wrap lengthwise, forming a rectangle, approximately 8" long. Starting with one long side, fold plastic wrap over the icing and roll into a cylinder-shaped tube. Secure both ends with a knot. Repeat with the remaining colors.
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When you're ready to ice the cupcakes, fit a large pastry bag with a large star decorating tip. (I use a Wilton 1M) or snip a tiny corner off of a gallon-size zippered bag and fit with a large star decorating tip.
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Cut off one of the knot ends from each tube and place tubes in prepared pastry bag. Pipe cupcakes as desired. Have fun watching the three beautiful colors unfold!
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