Ingredients
Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons GRATED lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
FILLING and Topping
12 ounces fresh raspberries, divided
1 tablespoon WATER
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup WATER
Frosting
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup unsalted butter
5 cups confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper liners.
Prepare Cake
Whisk TOGETHER cake flour, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together egg whites and buttermilk.
Place the sugar in your mixer bowl and add the lemon zest. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers UNTIL moist and fragrant. Add the butter to the sugar mixture and beat at medium speed for 3 minutes, until very light.
With mixer on low, add one third of the flour mixture, then add half of the buttermilk mixture. Add half of the remaining dry ingredients, then the REST of the buttermilk mixture, and finally the remaining dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl then beat on medium-high for 2 minutes to ensure it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
SPOON batter into prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full.
Bake in the preheated oven until cupcakes are very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool cupcakes in the pans for 5 minutes; transfer cupcakes to cooling rack to finish cooling.
Make the Filling:
Place 10 ounces of the raspberries, 1 tablespoon of WATER, and the white sugar in a food processor. Pulse several times to chop raspberries; blend until pureed, about 30 seconds.
Place cornstarch in a small bowl. Using a spoon, mix in a small amount of the water (5-6 drops), mixing to form a paste. Slowly drizzle in more water, mixing, adding water, mixing, etc, until all water has been added. Pour mixture into the raspberry mixture in the food processor and blend again until smooth.
Push the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds, pressing AGAINST the mixture to be sure you get all the berry goodness.
Pour raspberry mixture into a saucepan and simmer over low heat until thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Let the raspberry filling cool.
Cut a core out of each cupcake about 1 1/2 inches long and 1 inch in diameter.
Spoon about 1-2 teaspoons raspberry FILLING into each cupcake. Replace the top of the cupcake.
Make the Frosting
Place white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second intervals UNTILchips begin to melt, about 1 minute. Stir and repeat, heating chips about 10 seconds at a time, until thoroughly melted. Stir until chocolate is smooth and no more lumps remain.
Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed in a mixing bowl until fluffy. Beat in half the confectioners’ sugar, melted white chocolate chips, and milk until mixture is smooth and creamy.
Slowly beat in remaining confectioners’ sugar until smooth; if frosting is too stiff, beat in more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time.
Spread or pipe the white chocolate frosting over the cupcakes to cover the raspberry filling and decorate the tops with remaining raspberries
Bron: amandascookin
