Chocolate Rose Cupcakes | A Decadent Valentine’s Day Dessert
Cupcake Ingredients:
2 C. All-Purpose Flour
½ C. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
2/3 C. Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1 1/2 C. Granulated Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
3 eggs
1 C. Milk
Frosting Ingredients:
2 C. Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 tsp. Rose Water
5 C. Confectioner's Sugar
Pink and Red Food Coloring
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° and prepare your cupcake pan with liners or nonstick spray. Combine flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
2. In a separate, large bowl, cream the butter with a whisk, hand mixer or kitchen mixer until fluffy. Slowly add the sugar to the butter and beat until combined, then add the vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter/sugar mixture, beating after each one until smooth.
3. Slowly add in the dry ingredients in three intervals and the milk in two intervals, alternating between the two. Beat only until just smooth, making sure not to overwork the batter. (This can cause your cupcakes not to rise properly.)
4. Scoop the batter mixture into your prepared cupcake tin and bake for 25 minutes, allowing the cupcakes to fully bake, otherwise they may sink when taken out of the oven. Make sure not to overbake; your cupcakes should be puffed and spring back when lightly pressed. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to cool completely on a cooling rack.
5. While your cupcakes are cooling, you can create the buttercream frosting. In a large bowl, cream the butter with a whisk, hand mixer or kitchen mixer. Once your butter is fluffy, add the vanilla extract and rose water and mix until combined. Add the confectioner's sugar, one cup at a time, then beat for 3-5 min until fluffy. Add a couple of drops of pink food color, until a pale pink color is reached.
6. Add 1/3 of the buttercream mixture to a small bowl, then add a few drops of red food coloring until a nice rich rose color is reached.
7. Place a large 2D (star shaped) piping tip onto a baker's piping bag. With a spatula, spread the red colored frosting onto just the inner sides of the piping bag. Add the pale pink
buttercream frosting to the center. This will create a beautiful gradient effect as you pipe your rose frosting on the cupcakes.
8. Starting in the center of the cupcake (once completely cooled), pipe in a swirling motion all of the way around the cupcake, creating a buttercream rose. Voila! Enjoy and share with your Valentine's Day Sweetheart!
