Raspberry Rosé Cupcakes

Rosé. Raspberries. Buttercream. You need these cupcakes in your life.

Two weeks ago I volunteered to bake 48 cupcakes for a baptism.  The weather forecast was abysmal:  95 degrees and humid.  While my chocolate peanut butter cupcakes are always a crowd-pleaser, I knew they simply were not going to cut it in the heat.  Enter, the hunt for the perfect cupcake recipe.  I wanted something light, but more exciting than a basic vanilla cake.  Something fruity would fit the bill, but I was not in the mood for lemon.  Then, after over an hour of scouring all of the “best cupcake” lists that I could get my hands on, I found it.  Raspberry Rosé Cupcakes.  The holy grail of cupcakes.

Light.  Fluffy.  Sweet, but not too sweet. No artificial ingredients.  Raspberries, rosé, butter, rosé.  Did I mention Rosé?  Because there is rosé … in the cupcakes and in the frosting.

When I say that these cupcakes are the holy grail of cupcakes, I mean it.  My husband,  who is not a dessert person and definitely is not a “cake person” (unless you make the clementine cake a la The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) ate two of them.  My brother in law said that they were hands down the “best cupcakes” he has ever had.

The following recipe is adapted from a recipe by Analise over at http://www.completelydelicious.com.  After playing around a bit with proportions and ingredients, I landed on a recipe that worked for me.  The cake is light, but moist, with subtle hints of rosé.  The buttercream frosting is big and bold with lots of fresh raspberry on the front end, and rosé on the back end.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.  Happy Baking!

Raspberry Rosé Cupcakes

Yield:  32 cupcakes

CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 cup rosé wine (I used Whispering Angel)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink sea salt

FROSTING INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups rosé wine
• 1 1/2 cups raspberries, frozen (I prefer Trader Joes organic)
• 5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• Pinch Himalayan pink sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. First, prepare cupcakes. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin pan with paper liners. I used white liners because I wanted the finished cupcakes to look like roses.
2. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together on medium high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes.
3. In separate bowl, combine eggs, egg yolk, rosé wine and vanilla extract. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to mixer in 3 additions, alternating with egg mixture, stirring to combine after each addition. Beat briefly until smooth.
4. Scoop batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup only 2/3 full. Bake until cupcakes just begin to turn golden and spring back when gently pressed, about 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely.
5. To make buttercream, combine raspberries and rosé wine in small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil and simmer until reduced and thickened to about 1/4 cup, about 30 minutes. If you want to remove the seeds (and have a smooth finish), you can pass the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove raspberry seeds.  I opted for a more natural look, and skipped this step.  Either way, you need to let cool completely, which took about 45 minutes.
6. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle or whisk attachment, or in bowl with hand-held mixer, mix butter, sifted powdered sugar, salt and reduced raspberry rosé mixture until combined. Increase speed to medium high, and then high, and beat until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
7. Frost cupcakes as desired. To make a rose, you will need a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton “2D” tip.  Make a dollop in the center, and go around in circle around (2-3 times) until you reach the edge of the cupcake, and then pull up.  There is an easy video available on youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4o6g29mh5Q.

Serve and enjoy!

If you need to transport the cupcakes (and don’t have a cupcake carrying tray), don’t fret! You can use a regular serving tray with some tissue paper.  Tear the tissue paper into strips and roll it on itself, and wrap around each cupcake before placing it on the tray to prevent them from shifting during transport.