These cupcakes have been quite the labor of love. The inspiration came from Dorie Greenspan's White Chocolate Brownies, which is perhaps my favorite recipe of all time. They are comprised of subtle flavors that compliment each other so perfectly and the texture is fabulous! Anyway, so I set out to create a cupcake with these fabulous brownies in mind. I owe many thanks to my good friends Devin and Stephanie Davis who continually offered suggestions and "suffered" through taste tests. Anyway, the picture below features the cupcake, of course, which Devin frosted, and I added the candied orange peel (that Devin made, which takes a month!) and blueberry.
To give you a sum up of this delightful cupcake, it contains almonds, orange zest and blueberries and then is covered with a decadent white chocolate butter frosting. Make them tonight, you will NOT regret it!
Makes 30 cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Toasted Sliced Almonds (or toasted almond flour)
1 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup Sugar
zest from 1 Orange
4 Egg Yolks at room temperature
1 tablespoon Vanilla
1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
4 Egg Whites at room temperature
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Blueberries or Raspberries (it may be tempting to put more in, but refrain, it will overpower the other flavors)
White Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:
2 cups White Chocolate Chips
2 cups Unsalted Butter slightly softened
Directions:
Center rack in oven. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two 12 cup muffin tins with cupcake liners. (Although you will probably need three)
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the dry mixture and place in a small bowl. Set both dry mixtures aside.
Pour almonds into a Ziplock bag and zip shut, squeezing the air out as you go. Pound the almonds with a mallet or a rolling pin to crush them. You want tiny bits, nothing to really chew. Add almonds to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the butter. Cream together for about 3 minutes on medium. Zest the orange over the first cup of sugar, then remove the zest and set aside to add later. Add the sugar to the butter mixture, blending until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg yolks one at a time, blending after each addition. Turn the mixer to low and add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix until there are just streaks, then add about 1/3 of the buttermilk and mix until just blended. Continue alternating the dry ingredients and the buttermilk in this fashion, only mixing until streaks remain, being careful not to over blend. With the last addition of the buttermilk, also add the vanilla and zest still only mixing until streaks are left.
In a separate bowl, with clean a mixer, whip the egg whites with the remaining cup of sugar until they reach a medium stiff peak. Gently fold the whipped whites into the rest of the batter until just a few white streaks remain.
Rinse the berries and coat with the reserved dry mixture. Fold berries into batter.
Ladle batter into muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until the edges are golden and a toothpick entered into the center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool to room temperature.
For frosting, melt chocolate in a double boiler with 1/4 cup of the butter until smooth, stirring occasionally. Set aside and Let cool a bit while you whip the butter.
Place the remaining 1 3/4 cups butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl. Whip the butter on medium high for about 1-2 minutes or until light and fluffy. In a slow stream, blend in the melted white chocolate. Keep mixing until well blended. Once the cupcakes are room temperature, either pipe or spatula frosting on top.
You can make the cupcakes at least 2-3 days ahead of time; keep at room temperature in an airtight container. The frosting should only be made the night before and kept in the fridge in an airtight container. Wait to frost cupcakes until, at most, an hour ahead of serving.
Okay people, now it's your turn. Do share, what is your most favorite recipe of all time?
Makes 30 cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Toasted Sliced Almonds (or toasted almond flour)
1 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup Sugar
zest from 1 Orange
4 Egg Yolks at room temperature
1 tablespoon Vanilla
1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
4 Egg Whites at room temperature
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Blueberries or Raspberries (it may be tempting to put more in, but refrain, it will overpower the other flavors)
White Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:
2 cups White Chocolate Chips
2 cups Unsalted Butter slightly softened
Directions:
Center rack in oven. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two 12 cup muffin tins with cupcake liners. (Although you will probably need three)
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the dry mixture and place in a small bowl. Set both dry mixtures aside.
Pour almonds into a Ziplock bag and zip shut, squeezing the air out as you go. Pound the almonds with a mallet or a rolling pin to crush them. You want tiny bits, nothing to really chew. Add almonds to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the butter. Cream together for about 3 minutes on medium. Zest the orange over the first cup of sugar, then remove the zest and set aside to add later. Add the sugar to the butter mixture, blending until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg yolks one at a time, blending after each addition. Turn the mixer to low and add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix until there are just streaks, then add about 1/3 of the buttermilk and mix until just blended. Continue alternating the dry ingredients and the buttermilk in this fashion, only mixing until streaks remain, being careful not to over blend. With the last addition of the buttermilk, also add the vanilla and zest still only mixing until streaks are left.
In a separate bowl, with clean a mixer, whip the egg whites with the remaining cup of sugar until they reach a medium stiff peak. Gently fold the whipped whites into the rest of the batter until just a few white streaks remain.
Rinse the berries and coat with the reserved dry mixture. Fold berries into batter.
Ladle batter into muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until the edges are golden and a toothpick entered into the center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool to room temperature.
For frosting, melt chocolate in a double boiler with 1/4 cup of the butter until smooth, stirring occasionally. Set aside and Let cool a bit while you whip the butter.
Place the remaining 1 3/4 cups butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl. Whip the butter on medium high for about 1-2 minutes or until light and fluffy. In a slow stream, blend in the melted white chocolate. Keep mixing until well blended. Once the cupcakes are room temperature, either pipe or spatula frosting on top.
You can make the cupcakes at least 2-3 days ahead of time; keep at room temperature in an airtight container. The frosting should only be made the night before and kept in the fridge in an airtight container. Wait to frost cupcakes until, at most, an hour ahead of serving.
Okay people, now it's your turn. Do share, what is your most favorite recipe of all time?
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