May 8, 2011

White Velvet Butter Cupcakes with Raspberry Neoclassic Buttercream


This little cupcake with its decadent frosting was the perfect treat to counter the wonderful French pastries we've been eating for the last two weeks! The all-American cupcake, light, rich, and buttery, can hold its own against any mille feuille or macaron. And the buttercream! Made with French butter, this fantastic icing could make a Frenchman bid adieu to creme Chantilly!
Well, that might be an exaggeration, but the Buttercream Framboise is pretty darned good (as we say in Minnesota).


I got some very cute tulip parchment liners from King Arthur. Mine are brown and gold. Apparently you can make them yourself because they're just squares of parchment, but that didn't occur to me, so I bought them.


The cupcakes are so simple to make that there are no process pictures to speak of. Just add butter to flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; then mix in egg whites, milk, and vanilla. I usually buy whole milk for cooking, but I only had skim milk. It worked fine, and allowed me to convince myself that I was baking low-fat cupcakes.


I should have been worried about the buttercream, but I somehow knew that it would work out, as it did. I spent about ten minutes letting the Lyle's Golden Syrup drip out of the jar until I got exactly 85 grams. Jim was sure I'd have to open another jar, and I was equally sure that I wouldn't. Stubbornness won out. Drip by drip, I got my 85 grams.


This is my Isigny butter from Normandy. I got it on sale before I left for France. If I were being true to Brittany, where I just vacationed, I should have bought its famous butter, which is excellent, but it's the only butter in France that's salted. I wanted unsalted butter, so I had to go to Normandy. But if you want delicious caramels made with salted butter, you should go to Brittany post-haste.


The last time I made this buttercream with butter, egg yolks, and Lyle's Golden Syrup, it turned out very yellow, and it confused people, who expected it to be lemon. I decided I'd head that confusion off by adding raspberry puree, but the frosting, without raspberries, turned out to be creamy-looking, rather than lemon yellow. I don't think it would have been confusing, but I added the raspberries anyhow.


And then, dear readers, I got out my piping equipment. Yes. Those of you who have followed my adventures in cakedom know that I have always hated piping, decorating, and anything that might come from Michael's. But apparently I've had a sudden change of personality, because my piping bag started calling to me.


Top each frosted cupcake with a single red raspberry. It's as pretty as anything you'd see in Paris.


And not just pretty, but tasty too! The cupcake's crumb is lovely--soft and delicate; and the taste is pure.


I was going to give all these cupcakes away today, but I'm having a dinner party tomorrow. I've already planned chocolate pots de creme as dessert, but I'm going to offer a plate of cupcakes too: a dual dessert party. Who can complain about that? Not Jim or I, the only people who have tasted them so far. We both loved the delicious flavor and crunchy edges of the cupcake, and the tart smoothness of the buttercream. I think these cupcakes can hold their own, even against chocolate.

16 comments:

evil cake lady said...

Marie! These look so beautiful and professional! France seemed to do you good if it gave you the urge to pull out your piping bag. I love those tulip cupcake cups. Good to know that skim milk works, too; I've always wondered.

Welcome home!

faithy said...

Hi! I'm waiting to see your holiday photos! :D Love your cupcake wrappers!

Vicki said...

Gorgeous cupcakes! I've never seen cupcake liners like this. So your trip was superb, n'est pas?

Lois B said...

Beautiful cupcakes, Marie. Great piping; it makes me wonder what will come next, fondant?

Katya said...

Fondant...shudder...

I love making cupcakes and don't really like eating them...luckily I have co-workers. But Marie, those raspberries. Yes.

doughadear said...

Marie,
These are lovely cupcakes and will make quite a presentation for dessert.

Jenn said...

Marie, so pretty! I think making your own parchment cup wouldn't be that pretty - there's no pattern in parchment roll.

So funny that you had piping urges - that's great! We'll make a "piper" out of you.

Monica said...

Marie! Welcome back! or is it Bienvenue a Nouveau - are you missing France?!?!

And you jump right into baking - that is gutsy! Love the wrappers, love them, and I'm already looking for them.. And look at you a pipe bag, we should be proud, since I will be using mine ALL DAY TODAY. I had to skip this weeks choice, since a baptism cake was calling my name, but I'm totally going to do them for my next free choice, because they sound good.

lola said...

Absolutely beautiful Marie and welcome home after a lovely vacation. I think the tulip papers are a good choice to keep the batter from running so flat. In January, I made these cupcakes to replace the White Velvet cake, page 17. I just couldn't get around to making them again right now. I am all set though for LaBomba next week.

Roadtrek Girl said...

Your cupcakes look beautiful-perfect tucked in those gorgeous brown papers and topped with the raspberry. Can you add me to this group-I bought the book last week and can't wait to try the next one. My post is up at:
http://seattlepastrygirl.blogspot.com/2011/05/white-velvet-butter-cupcakes-with.html

NancyB said...

Welcome back! And what nice cupcakes for a post-vacation baking.

I piped my frosting as well, but most of it was one sqirt with a star tip to put a blob in the center of the cupcake. I suspect the middle-schoolers who ate most of them were more interested in the variety of sprinkles than the hurried frosting job. Or so I hope...

jini said...

they are beautiful and look delicious. a delightful combination. i hope the trip was wonderful!!

send cakes to mumbai said...

This looks amazing! Seriously impressed with how it's all going and the online marketing effort involved!

Anonymous said...

Deliciously looking cakes. Liked it

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous cupcakes - why don't mine ever look like that???? I'm going to bookmark this blog and try to pick up some tips and improve my craft. Thank you in advance! Tara Lidell

Luther King said...

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