Monday, May 4, 2009

Alluring Cupcakes


On my recent trek to Rozelle, I picked up a bottle of rosewater because I loved its colourful label and red lid. Which then raised the question – what can you make with rosewater?

It just so happens that Gourmet Traveller magazine had a recipe for cupcakes with rose-scented icing that I had my eye on, so I made them.

The cake itself is delicious, light vanilla. The icing is supposed to have a tinge of pink colour, but it’s hard to measure out just a drop of food colouring, so mine ended up a lovely lurid bubblegum pink. The rosewater fragrance is unmistakeable and very alluring!



Rosy cupcakes
Makes 15

Ingredients
125 g softened butter
220 g (1 cup) caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, scraped seeds only
2 eggs
225 g (1½ cups) plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
125 ml (½ cup) milk

Rosy icing
240 g pure icing sugar, sifted
1-2 tsp rosewater, or to taste
1 strawberry (or 1 drop pink food colouring)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 170C.
2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla seeds in an electric mixer until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).
3. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl and beating well after each addition.
4. Sift over flour and baking powder, stir to combine, add milk and stir to combine.
5. Half-fill 15 x 80ml-capacity muffin tins lined with paper patty cases (there may be a little mixture left over).
6. Smooth tops and bake until risen and golden (10-15 minutes).
7. Remove from tins and cool on a wire rack.

For rosy icing, combine icing sugar and rosewater in a bowl. Squeeze strawberry over bowl to extract juice (discard solids) – or add the one drop of food colouring. Gradually add 20-30ml water, stirring until smooth and drizzling consistency. Spread over cakes, filling to tops of patty cases, and stand until set (4-5 minutes). Store in an airtight container until required. Cakes are best eaten on day of making.


Recipe adapted from Gourmet Traveller (April 2009)


Ingredients, including pretty rosewater; my new mixer (not Kitchenaid, alas)

Mixing the ingredients


Patty cases filled with batter; cooked but un-iced


Iced cupcakes, with rosebud centrepieces!


8 comments:

  1. These are gorgeous! I have a rosewater recipe that I have been waiting to try but I have yet to stumble upon a bottle of the stuff (and I don't think I will be making a trip all the way out to Rozelle)

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  2. Very cute, and I like the swirled icing. I always succumb to laziness and pour out the food colouring by hand, but the trick to subtle colouring is to use a toothpick or chopstick to dip and mix.

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  3. Hee hee starting a Hello Cupcake series too ^^!? They look cute and delicate like a real rose ;)

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  4. I like the rosebuds on top - beautifully girly!

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  5. As soon as you mentioned the bottle I knew exactly which one you meant! And yes a quick scroll and it was. I love using those rose buds-they're so pretty and versatile!

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  6. hi Megan - I think rosewater is available from a lot of 'gourmet' places. The one I got is Lebanese and is also fairly common.

    hi Helen - thanks for the tip about the toothpick. Good to know for when the next batch of icing is made ;o)

    hi FFichiban - thanks! Hello Cupcake has a nice sound to it...

    hi Arwen - those rosebuds are very versatile - I sometimes pop one in a cup of tea!

    hi Lorraine - did you know they also make pomegranate molasses, but the bottle lable isn't as pretty.

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  7. hi there,

    may in know where did you buy the pleated patty cases from?

    Thanks

    Anita
    Melbourne

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  8. hi Anita - the pleated cases are by Donna Hay, and I got them from David Jones. They're also available from the DH General Store (maybe online, too).

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