Description
Moist vanilla peppermint cupcakes are filled with white chocolate fudge and topped with candy cane swirled frosting.
Ingredients
White Chocolate Fudge
- 4 oz good quality white chocolate (like Ghirardelli), chopped
- 1/4 cup (55ml) heavy whipping cream
Vanilla Peppermint Cupcakes
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1/2 cup (95ml) vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cup (225g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Candy Cane Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups (330g) unsalted butter, room temp
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 3–4 tbsp milk
- Pinch of salt
- Red gel food coloring
- Crushed candy canes (for sprinkling)
Instructions
White Chocolate Fudge
- Place the white chocolate in a medium-sized bowl, preferably one that’s wide and shallow.
- Heat the heavy cream in the microwave for 30 seconds – 1 minute until hot and bubbly.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, ensuring all of the chocolate is covered. Let it sit for about 1 minute, then whisk to combine. If you have any lumps of white chocolate that won’t smooth out, place the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds and mix again.
- Place the dish in the refrigerator uncovered. It will thicken and turn more white and opaque as it cools.
Vanilla Peppermint Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a cupcake tin with 12 paper liners.
- Mix together the milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle (this acts as buttermilk).
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl (preferably one that’s easy to pour from) combine the milk and vinegar mixture, oil, and extracts. *there are no eggs in this recipe.
- Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients as you whisk to combine. The batter should be pretty thin.
- Evenly fill the cupcake liners with the batter, each about 3/4 full.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Try not to let the edges brown too much.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool while you make the buttercream.
Candy Cane Frosting
- In a mixing bowl using a hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the butter until smooth.
- Mix in 1 cup of powdered sugar at time, mixing in a bit of the milk between each cup.
- Once smooth, mix in the extracts and salt.
- Place half of the buttercream in a separate dish and leave it white. To the buttercream still in the mixer, mix in a few drops of red gel food coloring.
Assemble
- Check on the white chocolate. It should be be thickened into a soft fudge-like consistency. If it still isn’t there, place it in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
- Hollow out the cupcakes using a cupcake corer or a small paring knife. Fill the cupcakes with the thickened white chocolate.
- For the frosting, lay out two sheets of plastic wrap. Add the white buttercream to one and the red to the other, forming it into a long log shape. Cover in the plastic wrap and twist both ends, like a sausage (see picture in post for reference).
- Slide the two logs side-by-side into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pull the two twisted pieces of plastic wrap through the piping tip and snip them off. Now the two-tone frosting is ready to pipe.
- Pipe tall swirls on top of each cupcake and sprinkle with the crushed candy canes. Store the cupcakes in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
Keywords: white chocolate cupcakes, peppermint cupcakes, candy cane cupcakes, cupcake recipe