Remember I told you I love white chocolate and peppermint together and how Christmassy I think it is? Well, I’m using the combo again! But these cupcakes are so nice, I know you won’t mind.
The cupcakes in the recipe are made using melted white chocolate and have a lot of vanilla extract, which brings out the flavor even more. And as for the topping, it’s a peppermint flavoured buttercream. And to add a little bit of kick I’ve sprinkled on some sea salt. I tried peppermint and salt together recently and it was lovely. Because the cupcakes are sweet, the salt also helps to temper that a little bit too.
To finish, I dunked the frosted cupcakes in some crushed candy canes, for an extra minty hit and a bit of crunch. It’s a really simple recipe that you will love.
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients:250 grams self-raising flour175 grams caster sugar½ teaspoon salt3 medium eggs90 ml milk1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract50 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled100 grams white chocolate, melted and cooled
Frosting Ingredients:100 grams unsalted butter250 grams icing sugar½ teaspoon peppermint extract1-2 teaspoon milkRed food colouringSea Salt to sprinkle6 candy canes, crushed
Cupcake Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 12 cupcake tin with liners.
In a bowl sift together the flour, sugar and salt. Set aside.
Whisk the eggs with the milk and vanilla. Add the cooled butter and milk chocolate, making sure they are cooled as you don’t want scrambled eggs! Beat until fully combined then add to the flour mix and with a spoon mix until the ingredients are combined. Don’t over mix.
Divide the batter equally between the 12 cupcake liners and place in the oven to bake for 15 to 10 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean from the center of a cupcake and it should be golden brown on top. Allow to cool fully.
Frosting Method:
Beat the butter with the icing sugar and peppermint extract. When it is all combined, if it feels to stiff add a little milk until you get a spreadable consistency. Add some colouring. With a knife, spread the buttercream on top of each cupcake and then sprinkle the tops of each with a little salt (don’t overdo it!). Cover the buttercream in crushed candy canes.
And that’s it! The white chocolate cupcakes are very sweet, very vanilla. And the contrast of minty and slightly salty is very, very good! Enjoy…
