White Chocolate Cupcakes W/ Raspberry Buttercream

This past weekend was – in case you didn’t realize – Valentine’s Day. Now, I honestly don’t get all into that. My husband does a really good job of showing me he cares for me on a regular basis (honest!) and I hope I do the same for him. Not to mention I had a very sick little girl over the weekend, so my mind wasn’t thinking of cupid or candy or flowers. But cupcakes – well, I did manage cupcakes.

I found a white-chocolate recipe out of the Sweet Food cookbook I had mentioned here before, and added a touch of raspberry syrup to a basic buttercream recipe to add a pink tint and some flavor. To top it all off, a cute chocolate heart. They were as tasty as they were cute. I hope you like them!

White Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter
3/4 C.  sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 C. buttermilk
1 C. white chocolate chips, melted

Frosting ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
1 2/3 C. confectioner’s sugar
2 T. milk
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1-2 T. raspberry syrup or raspberry preserves

For the cakes:
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale. Add in eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Add the vanilla extract. Alternately add in flour and buttermilk, until just incorporated. Finally, stir in melted white chocolate. Pour into greased muffin tins or cupcake liners. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

For the frosting:
Cream together very soft butter and sugar. Add vanilla and raspberry preserves. Add in the milk a bit at a time until you get a smooth, spreadable consistency.

For the garnish:
I piped out these dainty hearts using melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and a pastry bag. It was Valentine’s Day, after all. Instructions are available here via MarthaStewart.com.