Christine's Caress Cupcakes
Our wine club manager, Christine made cupcakes for the office. Everybody in the place loved the cupcakes and thought they would make a great pairing with our Caress Cuvée Blanc so we had to try them together. Several cupcakes and glasses of Caress later we knew we had a winner. Thanks Christine!
Ingredients
- Butter, unsalted, softened [F] · 4 ounces
- Cream cheese, softened [F] · 4 ounces
- Powdered sugar [F] · 2 cups
- Vanilla extract [F] · 1 teaspoon
- Self-rising flour · 3 cups
- Salt · ½ teaspoon
- Butter, unsalted at room temperature · 1 cup
- White sugar · 2 cups
- Eggs, at room temperature · 4
- Vanilla extract · 1 teaspoon
- Lemon zest · 2 tablespoons
- Whole milk, divided · 1 cup
- Fresh Meyer Lemon juice, divided · 2½ tablespoons
- Pink food coloring [F] · ¼ teaspoon
Instructions
To Make the Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
Line 30 cupcake pan cups with paper liners.
Sift the self-rising flour and salt together in a bowl.
In another bowl, beat the unsalted butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating each egg until incorporated before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
Gently beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture, one third at a time, alternating with half the milk and half the lemon juice after each of the first 2 additions of flour. Beat until just combined being careful not to over mix.
Fill the prepared cupcake liners with batter 3/4 full, and bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before removing them to finish cooling on a rack.
Cream Cheese Frosting [F]
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract then add the food coloring and gently stir until the color is uniform.
Different Flavored Frosting Ideas
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For chocolate frosting, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup cocoa, according to how rich you like the chocolate flavor.
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For Lemon frosting, add the juice of one lemon.
- For Strawberry frosting, add 1/4 cup strawberry puree
Serve with Williamson Caress Cuvée Blanc.