That Inevitable Valentine Thing (and Rosé Cupcakes)
Valentine's Day: you either hate it or love it. I'm in the camp of people who loves it. I love the colors and the chocolate and the excuse to bake pretty pink things. It's a much-needed splash of festivity during what can otherwise be an ugly and grey month...and who doesn't want an excuse to eat a lot of chocolate?
Another thing I love? Watching the Bachelor. Which is terrible, I know. Reality television is probably the downfall of Western Civilization. BUT. There's just something fun about setting your own reality aside for an hour and laughing really hard with your mom or your friends at other people trying to find love on TV. Oh and if you add rosé to that equation, it's even more of a recipe for fun! That was the inspiration behind these cupcakes, a recipe I adapted from my all-time favorite cupcake place, Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle. Seriously, if you've never been there, please go and try the s'mores cupcake. It's a life-changer.
The original recipe called for champagne, but I thought rosé would be more fitting for Valentine's Day. Thankfully, it turned out fantastic.
No matter whether you are in a relationship, have been married for years, are celebrating with your family or friends, or like me are single and have a lot of cats, I hope you have a fantastic Valentine's Day!
Roses and Rosé Valentine's Cupcakes
(adapted from Trophy Cupcake's Pink Champagne Cupcakes, featured in their very cute book Cupcakes & Parties!)
Pink Rosé Cupcakes (makes 2 dozen cupcakes)
2 cups cake flour* (not self-rising)
1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup rosé (I used Barefoot Wine's rosé)
2/3 cup half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon red food coloring
1 & 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 & 1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners
and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Combine the rosé, half-and-half, and food coloring in a large measuring cup with a spout. Set aside.
4. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixture fitted with the paddle attachment and beat them at low speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 1 minute if the butter is soft. If the butter is cool, it will take longer. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping the bowl after each addition, and waiting until all traces of each egg have disappeared before adding the next one.
5. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with adding the wet ingredients in 2 parts. Keep the mixer at the lowest speed, and mix each time just until the ingredients are combined. When everything has been added, scrape the bowl and paddle one more time, and stir the batter just until it's smooth. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes and stir gently before using.
6. Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full and bake until the tops of the cupcakes are firm and a cake tester inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with just a few crumbs, about 20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes in the pans before removing to a rack to cool completely.
*I used regular cake flour since I wasn't making these gluten-free this time, but if I were to make them gluten-free here's a trick to imitate cake flour: subtract a tablespoon per cup of the regular flour and swap it for corn starch, and then sift the flour three times to make it nice and fluffy.
Pink Rosé Buttercream (makes about 7 cups, but I used most of it)
3 cups (6 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon rosé
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
A few drops of red food coloring
2. Add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, and mix at the lowest setting. When all the sugar has been added, scrape the paddle and the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add the rosé, vanilla, salt, and a drop or two of the food coloring and beat them at a low speed for 15 seconds. Increase the speed to as high as you can without making a mess and whip the buttercream until the mixture is perfectly smooth, creamy, and light, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer once or twice to scrape the bowl and paddle, then continue beating. At first the buttercream will appear to soften, then it will stiffen and increase in volume.
Recipe notes: I learned something that my nerdy baking brain got really excited about: I've been over baking my cupcakes! I read in Cupcakes & Parties that you don't want the toothpick to be completely clean when you test the cupcakes...it's supposed to have a few crumbs on it. The cupcakes will continue to cook in the pan when you take them out of the oven, and if you want them to stay moist and fluffy the best thing to do is to ever- so-slightly under bake them. Who knew?
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