Raspberry Takes The Cupcake

Once I settled on a vanilla cupcake recipe, adding the fruit of choice was easy. Today I decided on raspberry and as my French roommate keenly observed before demolishing four in a row with hardly a breath in between, "zeez are zee best ones yet!!" This recipe make 24, however, keeping my roommates-turned-tasters in mind, and remembering my first attempt at rhubarb cupcakes - little geen unidentifiable blobs dispersed randomly throughout the cupcake are not as beautiful as I had imagined rhubarb would be - I only made half the recipe in case they turned out to be another miss. After having witnessed "Frenchie", whom I now think is the world's fastest cupcake eater, down nearly half the cupcakes in one sitting, I realized that I could have made 24 and still only have been left with two for myself.

The reason why raspberry works so well in cupcakes is because it's a fruit that's not as dense and juicy as, say, peaches and nectarines (especially the canned ones) therefore it doesn't release its juice into the batter upon being baked which makes it hard for the batter to rise, leaving a very dense, moist cupcake. Also, raspberries are a bit tart which is a nice contrast to the sweetness of the icing.

Vanilla cupcake recipe with fresh raspberries:

Ingredients: (Makes 24 cupcakes)

3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) buttermilk
2 cups fresh raspberries, tossed in flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F(or 177°C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

Directions:

Sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl and set aside. With a standing or hand-held electric mixer, cream the butter then add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Between each egg scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract. Gently mix in the buttermilk. Stir in the dry ingredients (by hand, not with the mixer). Fold in the raspberries.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake liners using a 1/4 measuring cup for each one. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden and a tester (I use a wooden toothpick) inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

White Chocolate Icing:

200 grams white chocolate, chopped

6 tablespoons heavy cream

1 batch of vanilla buttercream icing

Vanilla Butter Cream:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar

3-4 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

First, roughly chop the white chocolate into chunks (or simply buy white chocolate chips) and place in a heatproof bowl over a small pot of boiling water. Be very careful not to let any water/steam touch the chocolate and do not overheat or burn it because it will seize and become unworkable. You can also melt the chocolate in a microwave for about 15 seconds, however, you have to watch it carefully so that it doesn't burn. Once melted, stir until smooth and creamy then set aside to cool.

Next, make the vanilla butter cream. Cream the butter in a separate bowl, slowly adding half of the confectioners' sugar and half of milk. Beat until well combined, starting on the lowest speed possible and gradually increasing, otherwise you will end up as I often do, covered in powdered sugar. After fully combined, add the rest of confectioners' sugar, the rest of the milk and the vanilla extract. Whip until fluffy.

Lastly, combine the melted white chocolate and the heavy cream together stirring until smooth. Pour the white chocolate mixture into the vanilla buttercream and beat once more until fluffy.

Ice the cupcakes once completely cool and garnish with some fresh raspberries!