recipe: white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes

I'm sure it's no secret to anyone. I love to bake. I figured that I haven't done a recipe post in a while despite baking quite a lot the past few weeks, so I thought I'd share with you my new creations. White chocolate and raspberry cupcakes. These two vital ingredients are like one of the best flavour combinations ever! And oh my, they taste good. 


Ingredients
175g self raising flour
125g unsalted butter, softened
175g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons semi-skimmed milk
100g melted white chocolate
1 packet of fresh/frozen raspberries

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and prepare a cake tin with 12 paper cases.
2. Melt the white chocolate over a bain marie (or in the microwave, but be careful to not let it burn). Leave to one side to cool slightly.
3. Beat the softened butter with an electric whisk until light and fluffy and add the sugar, beating for an additional 5 minutes.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla extract together.
5. Add the egg mixture into the butter mix in 3 separate batches making sure you're scraping down the sides of the bowl after each time.
6. Add the flour and milk alternatively, i.e. flour, milk, flour, milk, flour, milk until all incorporated.
7. Add the melted chocolate and raspberries and mix well. If using fresh raspberries, wash before use and put them in the freezer for about an hour before adding to the mix. 
8. Divide amongst the 12 paper cases and bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.
9. Once golden brown and springs back to the touch, leave in the tray for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Top with the buttercream of your choice and enjoy with a hot beverage.

For my buttercream, I used a simple vanilla based buttercream, piped with a star nozzle and decorated it with white chocolate stars and mini marshmallows. These will keep for a few days in an airtight container and usually tastes best the day after you make them. But they still taste immense if you can't wait once they're ready!

Bon appétit 

Vanessa

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