Sunday, March 13, 2011

SNOW - White Chocolate Cupcakes - SuPeR!



The inspiration to make these cupcakes came to me as i was staring out the window and watching the snow fall in march here in Minneapolis, yes that was snow in MARCH! To be honest I was missing my home in Texas...Growing up I never understood the weather chart when they would say winter went from dec-feb? It was pretty much hot all the time in the south so moving here cleared that up - or confuses you since winter seems to be here longer than anyone can stand it!!!! Me and Trix were stuck inside as the white fluffy flakes fell from the sky, so we started our day of baking because ...well what else puts a smile on my face. EnJoY!!!!!!

Cupcakes Ingredients

1 1/4 cups cake flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large egg whites

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, stir the milk, and vanilla and almond extracts together.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until lightened in color about 3 minutes, the mixture will look sugary and form large clumps. On low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions and the milk mixture in two additions, beginning and ending wiht the flour mixture and mixing just until the flour is incorporated. Set aside.

In another large bowl beat the egg whites with clean beaters on medium speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Beat on high speed until the egg whites look shiny and smooth and the beaters form lines in the egg whites. If you stop the mixer and lift the beaters, the egg whites should cling to them. Stir about one-third of the egg whites into the reserved butter. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the remaining egg whites just until blended.

Fill each paper liner with a 1/3 cup of batter, to about 1/4 inch below the top of the liner. Bake just until the top feels firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a wire rack.

Frosting

3 ounces white chocolate chopped

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

6-8 ounces block of white chocolate for curls

powdered sugar for dusting

Directions for Frosting

Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double broiler and place it over but not touching a saucepan of barely simmering water or the bottom of the double broiler. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth and transfer to a large bowl. Add the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla to the chocolate and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth, about 1 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, mixing until the frosting is smooth, about 1 minute. Use a small spatula to spread about 2 tablespoons of frosting on each cupcake, mounding it slightly in the center.

For the chocolate curls hold the white chocolate between your hand for a minute to warm it slightly. THen hold the chocolate in one hand and use a vegetable peeler to scrape curls from teh block, letting them fall in a single layer onto the baking sheet. Scrape the peeler away from you to 1 1/2 to 2 inch strokes along all sides until you have 2 cups of large curls; you will not use all of the chocolate. If the curls begin to break, the chocolate is too hard and you need to hold it between your hands to soften it again. Put the baking sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm the curls. Spoon the chilled curls on top of the frosted cupcakes and dust lightly with powdered sugar. YUM!

1 comment:

  1. I'm catching up on your recent recipes...and wow, you're making me hungry. Everything is so beautiful and looks delicious! I miss you and can't wait to see you in about a month :)

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