White Zinfandel Cupcakes Offer a Beautiful Floral Scent with Gentle Flavors of Citrus and Strawberries Notes. Pair it with the Silkiest Swiss Meringue Buttercream and you will have a Unique Wine Cupcake only you can make at Home.
I did it again, people! I added alcohol to my dessert! Just couldn’t help it and you want to know what’s funny about this? I rarely drink! Don’t get me wrong, every now and then, I’ll grab a glass of wine before bed to calm my nerves. If you work in customer service, you get me, And while moscato was once my favorite wine of choice, over time I found it to be too sweet for my liking. These days my go-to is, white zinfandel. This hits the spot, every time!
White zinfandel has a luscious rosy pink color, so my goal for this recipe was to have cupcakes resemble the same soft rose appearance and adorn it with pretty pink swirls of the softest buttercream frosting and white pearls to give a more elegant appeal. One cup of wine is enough to not overpower the cupcakes yet still taste its gentle fruity combination of citrus and strawberry notes.
I can’t imagine cupcakes with any other kind of frosting from a Swiss meringue buttercream with having the same exceptional silky soft texture. This buttercream is indeed THE BEST I have made yet! For the longest time I steered clear from Swiss meringue and I almost want to kick myself for doing so because I’ve been missing out!
To humor you for a moment, want to know why I’ve stayed away from this type of buttercream? It’s so silly. It’s all because I knew it involved a candy thermometer. I know it may sound strange but for some reason, I heard the word candy thermometer and I would tense up thinking “oh this is going to be complicated.” Was I wrong! I made this buttercream on my first try. You may call it luck if you want but I will always believe you can do it too.
The directions below are a little more detailed than usual but if you follow the steps accordingly and remain patient, you will do just fine. I promise you.
And if you haven’t yet tasted or tried making this buttercream on your own, I highly recommend that you do. I almost guarantee, you may not want to go back to the traditional American buttercream. Yes, the American version is fast and easy to make but trust me, spend an extra 10 minutes and you will have a buttercream that you may never turn your back on again.
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White Zinfandel Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 cupcakes 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
White Zinfandel Cupcakes Offer a Beautiful Floral Scent with Gentle Flavors of Citrus and Strawberries Notes. Pair it with the Silkiest Swiss Meringue Buttercream and you will have a Unique Wine Cupcake only you can make at Home.
Ingredients
WHITE ZINFANDEL CUPCAKES
- 2 1/2 cups (275 grams) cake flour
- 1 1/3 cups (266 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 1/2 teaspoons (14 grams) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (8 grams) salt
- 1 1/4 cups (296 milliliters) white zinfandel wine
- 1/3 cup (79 milliliters) vegetable oil
- 3 egg whites
- Wilton Rose color food gel (optional)
SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
- 4 egg whites
- 1 1/2 cup (300 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (453 grams) unsalted butter, sliced
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Wilton Rose color food gel (optional)
OTHER
- White pearl nonpareils (optional)
Instructions
- CUPCAKES: Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 16 cupcakes wells with cupcakes liners; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Slowly add in the wine, oil and egg whites and mix until just combined and no visible dry pockets of flour remain.
- Add about 1/ 4 to 1/ 2 teaspoon (1 to 2 milliliters) of rose gel food color and mix until the batter turns to the desired color.
- Bake for 17- 21 minutes rotating pans about halfway through baking. Cupcakes are ready when a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
- SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM: In a large glass or metal heat-safe bowl, whisk together egg whites and sugar until just combined; the mixture will become viscous. Take note of the gritty texture by rubbing a pinch of egg mixture between two fingers. Use a bain-marie or create a double boiler by setting the bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Do not allow the bowl to touch the water.
- Continuously whisk the egg mixture until it reaches 160°F (70°C). Rub a pinch of the mixture between two fingers and it should feel warm, light and foamy with no grittiness.
- Transfer egg mixture to a bowl attached to an electric stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk mixture until the bowl is cool to the touch or the meringue reaches room temperature. The mixture will initially become glossy with soft peaks. Continue mixing until stiff peaks form.
- Switch the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment and set the stand mixer on low to medium speed. Add 1 tablespoon of butter at a time. Ensure each addition of butter is mixed thoroughly before adding another piece. About half way through mixing, scrape the bottom of the bowl as the meringue may stick. Note: After the first 1/ 4 cup (113 grams) of butter, the meringue may deflate and resemble soup. About half way through adding butter, the texture of the meringue can change and look curdled; continue mixing as it will come together to a smooth consistency when the last 1/ 4 cup of butter is incorporated.
- ASSEMBLY: To achieve a two-toned effect of buttercream over the cupcakes, reserve 1 cup of swiss meringue; set aside to chill in the fridge.
- To the remaining buttercream mix in 1/ 4 teaspoon of rose color food gel until buttercream has changed to a light pink color. Fill a piping (pastry) bag about 3/ 4 full of buttercream with a closed star tip. I used Wilton 2D. Twist the opened end to close the bag and hold in the fridge.
- Remove white buttercream from the fridge and using an angled spatula, spread a layer of buttercream onto each cupcake. Remove pink buttercream from the fridge and over the white layer of buttercream, pipe swirls clockwise or counterclockwise starting from one edge of the cupcake working towards the center. Begin to loosen the grip of the piping bag as you approach the tip to release the buttercream. Sprinkle with nonpareils. ENJOY!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: swiss meringue buttercream, swiss meringue frosting, white zinfandel wine, white zinfandel cupcakes, floral cupcakes, romantic cupcakes
Have you made these cupcakes or Swiss meringue buttercream? I’d love to know your thoughts below. 🙂
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