White Chocolate Raspberry Champagne Cupcakes with The Daly Bagel
I love bagels. Who doesn’t love a good bagel, though? It might seem like I’ve gone off track already, but here’s the story: I met Amanda and Adrienne at The Daly Bagel. That’s how I got inspired to develop this recipe. They learned about my cookbook—“A Gift of Cookies: Recipes to Share With Family and Friends”—and they just loved it!
A gift that keeps on giving.
They also love that 100% of the proceeds benefit two Chicago charities that help our children and families in need: Hephzibah Home and the Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Clinic Society. They loved it so much, they decided to sell copies at their store! How lucky am I? That wasn’t even the end of it. Adrienne and Amanda also asked me to do two flavor week collaborations with The Daly Bagel. I couldn’t possibly say no!
Cue my White Chocolate Raspberry Champagne Cupcake Recipe (it’s not just a New Year’s dessert)!
I know I’m a self-described cookie queen, but I went rogue on flavor week and created the sweet, sweet goodness of the Raspberry Champagne Cupcake instead. What can I say? A good cupcake is pretty good, too.
I’m beyond excited to share this brand-new recipe with you. January is the perfect month to try it since so many of us indulge in the bubbly on New Year’s Eve! The champagne is in the frosting and it’s absolutely delightful. When you bite into this little white cake dream, you get a raspberry surprise.
The only special equipment you need for this recipe is a trusty cupcake corer from Norpro. This handy kitchen tool allows you to create a perfect hole in the center of a baked cupcake, ready for a dollop of icing—or in this case, a lovely jam. Simply twist the corer into the center of a baked (and cooled) cupcake. That’s all it takes!
Watch for the full recipe here, or scroll down a bit for the printable version:
Mary DiSomma’s White Chocolate Raspberry Champagne Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup white chocolate, finely chopped
- ½ tsp vegetable oil
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons Mary DiSomma’s Madagascar cognac vanilla extract
- ¾ all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cake flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Raspberry jam
- ½ cup pink Moscato or pink champagne
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 to 3½ cups confectioner’s sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream, as needed
- Light pink food coloring
- Crystal sanding sugar for tops of cupcakes
Instructions
- Prepare the cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
- Place the white chocolate and vegetable oil in a small microwaveable bowl. Microwave in 15 second bursts, stirring after each burst. Microwave until the chocolate is about 80 percent melted, then remove and stir until it’s completely smooth. Chocolate can burn quickly, so keep a close watch on it while it’s in the microwave.
- Place the softened butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the melted white chocolate and vanilla extract. Beat to combine.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Use a slow speed and beat until just combined, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed.
- Using a cookie scoop, fill the cupcake wells about ⅔ full. Bake for approximately 13 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in the muffin tin for 2 minutes, then remove from the tin and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow your cupcakes to cool completely before moving on.
- After the cupcakes are cooled, remove a small amount of cupcake from each cupcake top to create a hole. I use a cupcake corer made by Norpro. You could also use an apple corer. Set the excess cupcake aside.
- Put a little bit of raspberry jam into the hole and cover with some of the cupcake that you removed.
- Now it’s time to prepare the frosting. Place the pink champagne or Moscato in a small sauce pot. Simmer until the champagne is reduced to approximately 4 tablespoons. Let cool completely.
- In a stand mixer, cream the butter on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the salt and 1½ cups of the confectioners’ sugar. Beat on medium low, slowly adding the remaining confectioners’ sugar and the reduced champagne. Add the heavy cream as needed to create a nice consistency.
- For a little color, add a dab of pink food coloring. Beat on medium high for 2 minutes.
- Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and decorate with crystal sanding sugar.