The first post. This is supposed to be the important one,
right? I hope I’m able to do all the things a good blog is supposed to do
(capture your attention, relate to you, and entertain you all at once). Not only is this my first post, but this
happens to be my first blog. Some friends of mine expressed interest in seeing
a blog I may create so here’s my attempt:
My daughter recently turned 7 years old. I always say that
children’s birthdays are a weird mix of emotion for a parent. At one end you
are so proud of the wonderful little human being they have become and will
continue to grow into, and at the other end you have this sad little emptiness
that is caused by knowing you’ll never be able to cuddle that little baby you
once had, again. Maybe I’m alone in feeling this, but as she is my oldest it
breaks my heart to know the older she gets the less she will need me for
certain things.
For Ms. Bella’s birthday we ended up going to a local tea house called the Brambleberry Cottage/Tea House. The girls got to dress in their finest tea dress and enjoy tea, scones, sandwiches, and desserts. It was a very memorable 7th birthday.
For our family gathering I asked Isabella what she would like me to make for her and she gave me free roam. I generally get a little overwhelmed when someone does that, haha, but luckily I had just read a recipe that I had been really wanting to make. White Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes decorated with some amazing Star Wars cupcake accessories my lovely husband gave me for Christmas.
They turned out amazing. These cupcakes are definitely more
on the sweet side, so those of you that are more into savory may want to alter
it a little to achieve this (maybe use a dark chocolate truffle instead of
white). Everyone’s favorite part was the center of the cupcake where the
truffle was added. I apologize for not
having pictures of it along the way and only an end result, I didn’t know I was
going to start this blog when I first made them. So without further ado, the recipe:
White Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes
Cupcake
1 ¾ Cups cake flour
**I didn’t have any on
hand so I used regular which worked just fine as well**
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 Cup whole milk
½ tsp double strength vanilla
**again,
didn’t have any so I doubled my normal vanilla**
4 egg whites, room temp
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
½ Cup granulated sugar
¼ Cup sour cream
12 round white (or milk
or dark) chocolate truffles (I used Lindor truffles) unwrapped
Frosting and Garnish
6 oz white chocolate for
baking chopped
8 oz cream cheese softened
½ tsp double strength vanilla
**if
you don’t have just double normal vanilla**
2 Cups powdered sugar
(optional) white chocolate to make curls for
decoration
1. Preheat
oven to 325°F. Place your paper liners in your
cupcake/muffin pan. Whisk flour and baking powder in a small bowl. In another
bowl or measuring cup combine the milk and vanilla. In another bowl use a hand
mixer (or if you have more than one bowl for your kitchen aid/mixer use that)
and beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form (you will know
this when they look more solid and if you were to lift the beaters out of the
bowl the eggs will keep the form they make). In your mixer bowl (last bowl you
will need I promise!!!) beat butter and granulated sugar on med-high speed
until they are fluffy, beat in sour cream until smooth. On med speed, add the
flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture in two
additions. Mix until smooth. With a hand whisk, whisk in 1/3 of the egg whites.
Once it looks incorporated fold in the remaining egg whites (this means don’t
just keep stirring it, fold it… looks slower than a stir. Google if you aren’t
sure what that means). Once it’s all mixed together take a large ice cream scoop
(or whatever you have that will make your life easier /cleaner to get the
batter into the paper liners) and put a scoop in each paper liner. You will
want it to be about 3/4s full. If you are questioning if you put too much or it’s
too close to the top take some out, as these cupcakes do rise up a decent
amount.
2. Bake
17-20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a
cooling rack. Using a sharp paring knife (or any sharp knife really) make a ½ in “X” incision
on top of each cupcake. Press one truffle into the center of each cupcake. It
should be flush with the top of the cupcake once inserted. Remove the cupcakes from
the pan and allow to cool on cooling rack (about 30 minutes or until they hit
room temp).
3. Frosting:
place white chocolate in a small microwaveable bowl (I guess I lied you needed
another bowl). Microwave for 20 seconds stir, repeat. Do this until the
chocolate is mostly all the way melted and stirring will melt the rest. Set
aside to cool a little. In your cleaned mixing bowl, combine melted chocolate,
cream cheese, butter and vanilla, and beat on med speed until well blended. Slowly
add powdered sugar and beat well (but do not over beat).
4. Decoration.
Now this part is mostly up to you. I enjoy getting a frosting bag and a tip and
going about it that way. If you want tips on how to use said frosting bag/tip
let me know and I’ll make a post about it. You can use whatever accessories you
would like to decorate these cupcakes, although with their beautiful white
coloring (both cake and frosting) I personally think something equally white or
metallic goes well. If you have chosen to use white chocolate curls to put on top here is how to do it: place two
squares of baking chocolate on a piece of parchment paper, microwave on high
for 10 seconds. Using a vegetable peeler create curls.
Please feel
free to ask questions or comment on your results with making these. Until next
time, good luck with everything!!!
Recipe based on http://www.pamperedchef.com/recipe_search/recipe.jsp?id=10034
