White Chocolate Rose Cupcakes

Name: White Chocolate Rose Cupcakes
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 24
Ingredients: 2 cups cake flour, sifted; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature; 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs, room temperature; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon rose water; 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature; ¼ cup white chocolate chunks, finely chopped; 5 large egg whites, room temperature; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 ½ cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature; 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped, melted, and cooled; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; A dash of rose water (optional, and to taste)

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These fluffy white chocolate rose cupcakes are infused with floral rose notes and are perfect for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day. (Recipe and post were updated February 2021).

Happy Cupcake Monday friends!! Today’s offering to start your week on a sweet note are these white chocolate rose cupcakes. This recipe was first published in 2013 but it is getting a makeover!! (if you scroll all the way to the end, I left one of the original pictures. Talk about improvement!!). When something is as good as these cupcakes, you keep it around. Nothing beats fluffy cupcakes, unique flavors, and silky swiss meringue buttercream.

Rose water and white chocolate combination make these cupcakes perfect for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s day treats. The floral notes pair perfectly with a bouquet of flowers to shower your loved ones. This flavor combination is one of my favorites White Chocolate Rose Frozen Yogurt; White Chocolate Rose Cake for Mother’s Day.

Let’s get into how to make these cupcakes and why I love them! First, are you familiar with rose water? It’s okay if you are not, I wasn’t aware of its existence until a couple of months ago when I stumbled onto these cupcakes and couldn’t wait to experiment. I bought rosewater a while ago and have been shying away from using it after I took a strong whiff that put me off. Like most things, just a little goes a long way.

These white chocolate rose cupcakes start with a simple vanilla cupcake recipe that is infused with a dash of rose water. We also fold in chopped white chocolate chips in the cupcake batter. So the cupcakes have both rosewater flavor and white chocolate. Such a great combination.

Finally, we top these cupcakes with a fluffy white chocolate swiss meringue buttercream and a dash of rose water as well! This not very sweet kind of buttercream is perfect for these cupcakes. If you are however not a swiss meringue buttercream fan, you can use an American buttercream. You can find my favorite American buttercream recipe here in these Vanilla Cupcakes recipe.

For those who will ask, what is the taste of rose water? It’s not a taste per see, instead, it gives these cupcakes more of a scent than a flavor. A wonderful floral smell that enhances the flavors of the cupcake.

I used these floral cupcakes on Sunday to celebrate some of the wonderful mothers in my life. A small treat to show them how much I appreciate and love them!

Yield: ~24 cupcakes

White Chocolate Rose Cupcakes

White chocolate rose cupcakes that are delicate and perfect for Mother's Day. Sweet, moist and filled with white chocolate chips are topped with a silky smooth rose buttercream.

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

2 cups cake flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon rose water
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
¼ cup white chocolate chunks, finely chopped

For the White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

5 large egg whites, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped, melted, and cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
A dash of rose water (optional, and to taste)

Instructions

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Line two muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well to combine and scraping down the bowl as needed. Add in the vanilla extract and rose water.
Reduce speed to low, add a third of the dry ingredients and half of the buttermilk and beat until just combined. Add another third of the flour mixture and the rest of the buttermilk and beat again until combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat until combined. Fold in the white chocolate by hand with a rubber spatula.
Divide batter into cupcake liners and bake until golden brown or until a tester comes out clean, about 12-15 minutes.
Cool in pan for 2-3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

Whisk together sugar and egg whites in a heatproof mixing bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water. Whisk until warm and sugar is dissolved (mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingers), 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg white mixture for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue has cooled (test by the feeling bottom of the bowl), about 6 minutes.
Reduce speed to medium. Add butter, one piece at a time, beating well after each addition. Keep beating until the buttercream comes together. It takes a few minutes but keep beating with the electric mixer. Beat in vanilla extract and rose water. Mix in the white chocolate into the buttercream and mix for about a minute to combine.
Use immediately to frost cupcakes or store in an airtight container in fridge for up to a week.