How to Make Funfetti Cupcakes with Rosewater Buttercream Frosting
If the amount a person loves sprinkles directly corresponds to how adult someone is… I miserably fail at being grown up. I pay my bills on time, I go to work every day, and I don’t eat cereal for dinner. However, give me a bowl of sprinkles and the part of me that’s still five and attracted to shiny things explodes.
It’s hard not to love the white background of cake flecked with tiny bits of color. As I folded the sprinkles or “jimmies,” I thought of what kind of frosting would go well. A simple chocolate was too easy. A little lemon clashed with the happiness that the sprinkles gave me. I rifled through my various bottles of extracts and flavors like a witch preparing a cauldron when my fingers brushed the top of a still sealed container, slightly hidden. In that moment, I realized how I could mature a cake with sprinkles in it—rosewater.
This combination of cake and frosting prevents the rose from overpowering and brings out the delicate flavors of the vanilla cake subtly flavored with lemon. Bring these cupcakes to a birthday party for young or old and be prepared for rave reviews.
Hit the jump for an explosion of sprinkle colors… as well as the recipe.
Funfetti Cupcakes with Rosewater Buttercream Frosting
Makes 12. About 30 minutes active time. About 30 minutes baking time.
Ingredients:
½ cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup of granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
1 ½ cups of all purpose, unbleached flour
1 ½ tsp of baking powder
¼ tsp of salt
¼ cup of milk
2 T of multicolored or desired colors of jimmies/sprinkles
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy—if using a hand or stand mixer, beat on medium. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Alternately add the flour mixture and milk on medium speed, alternately, ending with flour. (So half the flour mixture, all the milk, then the rest of the flour mixture.) Scrape down the bowl as needed. Once combined, fold in the sprinkles.
Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 15-20 minutes—just until the top is set and a toothpick/cake tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let sit the cupcakes in the pan for about five minutes then remove from the pans and let cool on wire racks.
Rosewater Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
2 cups of powdered sugar, whisked in a bowl to break up chunks.
½ cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp of rosewater extract (be careful not to add too much)
2 T of milk
Directions:
Cream the butter until smooth and well blended with a hand or stand mixer. Add the extract. Gradually add the sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Once all sugar is combined, add milk and beat on hide speed until frosting is light and fluffy. Feel free to add any colors you’d like at this point.
Christine Eriksen takes the pictures, tries the recipes, and eats the food mentioned in the post above in her miniature Philadelphia kitchen. Her other hobbies include knitting, comics, and a Futurama marathon that never ends. Check out her food obsessed tweets @crumblebakery and find more recipes on bigscarykitchen