Tasty Tuesday - Pink Velvet Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache

Ganache. It's like a secret code word for heavenly. Pink - I'm a girl, it's a rule. So I stumbled across this recipe about a year ago, and I've never made it, until now. But it's haunted me. I've dreamed about it. Then one day, I hunted the recipe down, and proceeded the hunt for the pink paste food coloring.

The culprits of the yummy goodness:

Butter, Vanilla, Sugar, Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Eggs, Salt, Buttermilk, Heavy Cream and White Chocolate

 In a bowl, add the sugar, butter and food coloring. If you want to get creative, you can use some other color, as this stuff doesn't change the taste. Beat until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time. And toss in the vanilla.

Now, you can be lazy like me, and add our salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl your working in. That way you can just scoop the flour out of the canister and avoid washing an extra bowl. Or you can follow the directions and mix all that stuff in a separate bowl. Whatever floats your boat.

Now, add in the flour and the buttermilk alternately. Don't have buttermilk on hand, or don't want to buy it. Then just measure out your milk, and add a "splash" or about a 1 tsp to the milk. Let it sit, until it's thick and creamy. Viola! Instant buttermilk.

This is a fairly thick batter. Now...this is the most important step. Taste the batter. Don't look at me like that. Taste it. I was worried that the thickness meant I had done something wrong. So I tasted. Hmmm. It's okay. How disappointing. So in order to improve, I threw in some extra vanilla. And see that pink. That's the color I wanted after I added all the "white" remaining ingredients. You can always add more if you want to go darker.

Line your muffin tin. Sounds like an Army command. Line your tin soldier! Sir, Yes, Sir!

Get your batter in the tin. If you have a handy cupcakie - filler-upper then use it. Or an empty ketchup bottle works too. Just get the batter in the tins! Yes, Ma'am!

Now, you put them in the oven and turn yourself about and realize that your sink is full of dishes and that your too old to hokey pokey in your kitchen with a dog, and you discover that's what it's all about. It's been a long day.

Bake them cupcakes soldier. 25-27 minutes or until slightly golden and you poke a stick in them and the stick is still nice and clean. Then put the toothpick back in the container...think of it as recycling. Once the cupcakes are done, let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then remove them and let them cool completely. Probably on wire racks, but if your like me and don't own wire racks, then just let them cool on your counter. You'll want them completely cool to ice them.

To make the Ganache. In a saucepan add your heavy cream. Bring it to a boil. Don't think, "Oh, I'll go do (insert activity here) and come back and check on the cream in a second. It's a trick. Don't do it.

There isn't much cream to start with, so it doesn't take long to bowl. I was washing the muffin tins and turned around it and it was boiling. It's fast. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Then add in the butter, and keep whisking. You want it lump free. Now, taste it. Go on, you know you want to. Did you hear the angels sing too?

Now, the hard part, stick the ganache in the fridge. You'll want to leave it about 30 minutes, and try to remember to come by and stir it about half way through. If you happen to leave it in longer than that, just let it sit out and warm up some. I left mine in about an hour and just let it sit out and then you whip it. And whip it good. Soft peaks is what your looking for. It takes a bit, but not near as long as making whipped cream. Then frost those cuppycakes and decorate to your hearts content. 

Then pour yourself a nice big glass of milk and take a bite out of a mini piece of taste bud heaven. Then hide the rest, because you probably won't want to share. 

Pink Velvet Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/8 tsp pink paste food coloring
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk

For the Ganache:

2 cups white baking chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
pink coarse sugar and pink sugar pearls (optional)

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the food coloring and mix until incorporated. (You can add more color here if you aren't happy with your level of "pink". You still have lots of white stuff to add, so your color will be lighter than what you see right now.) Add eggs, one at a time and mixing well. Finally, add in the vanilla. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the egg mixture alternately with buttermilk, mixing well after each addition.

Fill paper lined muffin cups. (The batter is fairly dense, so I did 3/4 of the way full and they came out fine.) Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes or until slightly golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely.

Place white chips in a large bowl. In a saucepan, add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Pour over white chips and stir until completely melted. Add in butter and continue to stir until incorporated. Chill for 30 minutes, stirring once.

Once chilled, beat on high until soft peaks form and frosting is light and fluffy. Frost cupcakes, and decorate with pink sugar and sugar pearls if desired. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Makes 2 dozen

Inspired by Taste of Home