White Chocolate & Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

I just looked over the top of my laptop at my husband, who’s sitting on the couch next to me, and said “I don’t have any wittiness for my blog post.”  He just looked at me funny.

You guys don’t care about wittiness, do you?  You care about cupcakes.  I knew it.  You’re just using me.

See?  No wittiness.  I’m not even sure I’m spelling that right.  Wittiness?  Witty-ness?  Wittyness?  My spell checker likes wittiness, so we’ll go with it.

Have you ever said a word so many times that it loses all meaning?

Wow.

I’m not sure what’s with the writer’s block tonight.  It might be a result of the recent time change due to Daylight Savings over the weekend.  It might be my little sassy six year old who is draining every ounce of patience from me right now.  It could be my messier-than-normal house, or maybe the piles of laundry that just won’t go away.  I think I need a vacation…

I just looked over my laptop again at my husband and told him I needed a vacation.  No response.

So, back to cupcakes it is.

Since I’m all out of wittiness, I guess it’s a good thing that I have a spectacular cupcake to share with you.  This is a white chocolate & marshmallow filled vanilla bean cupcake, topped with white chocolate buttercream.  It’s kind of phenomenal.

I had some marshmallow filling left over from my {last cupcake recipe,} so I just added some white chocolate to it – and it really worked!  The filling has just a mild white chocolate flavor, but stays fluffy and creamy thanks to the marshmallow and whipping cream.

You can see that I really added a lot of vanilla bean to this cupcake, because I wanted a strong vanilla flavor to stand up to the white chocolate.  I love it when you can see the specks of vanilla in a recipe, too.  So pretty.

The white chocolate buttercream was super creamy and silky.  This recipe made just enough for 24 piped cupcakes, but if you just flat-frost them with a knife, you can probably halve the recipe with no problem.

I did shave some white chocolate to use as a garnish, which I think is really cute but as far as taste goes, not really necessary for the recipe. So, unless you’re really fancy or using these for entertaining, feel free to skip that step.

Since I made these for a friend, I put together a quick cupcake topper to match the theme of her party.  This is just card stock punched from a scalloped craft paper punch, and glued to lollipop sticks.  Quick & easy!

I would try to make these the day you need them if possible.  Otherwise, store them in the refrigerator or a cool place, and bring them to room temperature about 30 minutes before you have to serve them.  White cake is always better fresh, if you ask me.

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Thanks for stopping by today!  Leave me a comment below so I know you were here!

♥erin

White Chocolate & Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
 
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Cook time
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Beautiful and decadent, these cupcakes are perfect for entertaining! Can you see the specks of vanilla?? Recipe Inspiration and Sources: Cupcakes from Joy of Baking, Frosting and Filling from Lemon Sugar
Serves: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
  • 1 cup (2 sticks/16 Tbs) unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 and ⅓ cup sugar
  • 6 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Sees from 2 small or 1 large vanilla bean
  • Zest of 1 large lemon (I omitted this)
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup milk
Filling:
  • 3.5 oz marshmallow cream
  • 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 Tablespoons vanilla
  • 1 oz melted white chocolate
  • 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
Frosting:
  • 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 5-6 cups powdered sugar (or more, depending on desired consistency)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 12 oz. good quality white chocolate, chopped
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cupcakes:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cupcake tins with liners.
  2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until pale in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  4. Add vanilla bean and vanilla extract, beat just until combined.
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk together lemon zest (if using), four, baking powder and salt.
  6. Measure out milk and set aside.
  7. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the batter, and beat just until combined.
  8. Add half of the milk and beat until combined.
  9. Add half of the remaining flour, beat to combine.
  10. Add the rest of the milk. Beat to combine, and add the rest of the flour. Beat to combine.
  11. During the process, scrape the bowl as needed.
  12. Fill cupcake papers ½ to ⅔ full, and bake 17-20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Don't overbake.
  13. Cool on a wire rack for 2 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely before frosting. Prepare cupcakes for filling using the cone method
White Chocolate Creme Filling:
  1. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in microwave, then cool slightly.
  2. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and beat until smooth and fluffy.
  3. Spoon about a teaspoon of filling into each cupcake, then replace the cone.
  4. Prepare frosting.
White Chocolate Buttercream:
  1. Melt white chocolate and set aside to cool.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth and fluffy.
  3. Add powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and melted chocolate.
  4. Beat until completely combined, then add heavy cream.
  5. Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
  6. Frost cupcakes as desired. Garnish with shaved white chocolate.

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