ROSE WATER CUPCAKES

 

happy weekend! here are those rose frosted cupcakes i have been going on about all week. i figured it was only fitting to flavour the actual cake & frosting with rosewater too! while i am all about piping my cupcakes mile high, i know a lot of people don't like that much frosting. so for the bridal shower i baked for i decided to keep it minimal. an elegant rose using just a touch of frosting. the technique isn't as difficult as it may look, just check out some youtube videos & you should be good to go. on a side note, with asparagus in season (my favourite season) i made a roasted asparagus & pancetta risotto for the crate & barrel blog. omg, risotto was one of my favourite dishes growing up! adding some asparagus, cured meats & freshly grated parmesan cheese makes it that much better. you can get the recipe on crate & barrel here & the recipe to these rose water cupcakes below.

ingredients

(makes one dozen cupcakes)

for the cake

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/8 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon rose water
  • 1/2 cup whole milk

for the frosting

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups icing sugar, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon rose water
  • 2-3 drops pink food colouring

directions

  • preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • in the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and sugar. add the egg, followed by the vanilla & rosewater. mix until light and fluffy.
  • in a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. gradually add to stand mixer at low speed, alternating with the milk.
  • divide batter evenly amongst 12 lined cupcake tins. bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the top bounces back to touch. let cool completly before frosting.
  • for the buttercream add butter, sugar, vanilla & rose water to the bowl of a stand mixer. beat until frosting is light & fluffy, about 8-10 minutes. add two to three drops of food colouring until the desired colour is reached.
  • finish off by frosting each cupcake with a rose shaped swirl.

like what you see? get it here. grey cake stand | linens | reclaimed serving tray

matcha white chocolate mousse

 

yay to more matcha!! i am kind of becoming obsessed with the combination of green tea & white chocolate, the two flavours compliment each other perfectly. the sweetness of the white chocolate helps offset the earthiness of the green tea. i am a huge white chocolate lover, even though it is technically not chocolate. growing up my sisters would each get a giant milk chocolate bunny at easter & i would get a special white chocolate one! after making that delicious white chocolate matcha cake, i wanted to do a lighter style dessert featuring the same flavours. mousse is quite an elegant dessert to serve if you are hosting any type of gathering. serving individually portioned dessert at the end of a dinner party makes it much more classy. the mousse itself features aiya matcha's cooking grade matcha powder & white chocolate, while the whipped cream topping is sweetened slightly with additional white chocolate. i topped it with toasted coconut flakes & a touch of matcha powder, but you can top the mousse with anything you like! fresh berries anyone?

ingredients

for the white chocolate matcha mousse

  • 1/4 cup + 1 1/2 cup whipping cream
  • 4 ounces white chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon matcha powder (i used aiya matcha cooking grade)
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

for the white chocolate whipped cream

  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 2 ounces white chocolate, melted & cooled
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup toasted coconut, for topping

directions

  • for the white chocolate matcha mousse: in a saucepan on low heat add 1/4 cup whipping cream, chocolate, 1 tablespoon matcha powder, sugar & vanilla. whisk until chocolate has fully melted & mixture is smooth. let cool to room temperature. in a mixing bowl add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of whipped cream & whisk until soft peaks are formed. slowly fold in the matcha mixture & the remaining teaspoon of matcha powder until mixture is streak free. pipe or layer into desired serving dish & refrigerate to firm up while you make the whipped cream topping.

  • for the white chocolate whipped cream: in a mixing bowl whisk white cream until soft peaks. add chocolate, sugar & vanilla. continue to whisk until stiff peaks form. pipe onto the matcha mousse & sprinkle with toasted coconut/matcha powder. refrigerate until ready to serve!

this post was created in partnership with aiya matcha! you can find the cooking grade matcha powder that i used here. 

like what you see? get it here. le creuset pan | glasses | flatware | linens | animal plates

honey roasted strawberry parfait

 

i just spent last night making a zillion different types of chocolate & vanilla cupcakes for a bridal shower i am off to shortly. okay, by a zillion i mean four dozen, but EH that is a lot of cupcakes! i have been trying really hard to perfect my rose piping technique (spoiler alert: you will see the results this week). i don't know, i feel like it still doesn't look exactly how i want it to.. maybe that is just me being a crazy perfectionist. i really want to work on my skills so i can make both a ruffle cake & ombre rose cake! but enough about piping & more about these parfaits. this is kind of a little intro to spring/mother's day, even though it snowed yesterday & looks like it is christmas outside. every year since i was little, my sisters & i have made my mom breakfast in bed. what started out as burnt toast & orange juice, slowly progressed to a much fancier breakfast. bobby flay's blueberry pumpkin french toast (i need to blog those ASAP), nigella lawson's strawberry cheesecake pancakes & various forms of fruit parfait! this parfait has been the best one to date. not only is the honey granola homemade, but i decided to roast the strawberries in honey & they are amazing. i can't believe i didn't always do this. with the help of bee raw's variety of honey, i decided to include the different honeys in ALL three layers of the parfait. i chose a very simple almond granola base & went with a plain greek yogurt sweetened with honey.

ingredients

(makes 4 parfaits)

for the almond granola

  • 3 cups whole rolled oats
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • 1 pinch cinnamon
  • 1 pinch nutmeg
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup honey (i used bee raw's new york basswood honey)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons almond milk

for the roasted strawberries

for the honey greek yogurt

directions

for the almond granola

  • preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • in a large mixing bowl add oats, almonds, cinnamon & nutmeg. stir until combined.
  • in a separate bowl whisk oil, honey, vanilla & milk.
  • add wet ingredients to dry ingredients & toss until evenly coated.
  • on a parchment lined tray, bake for 45 minutes. stir granola every 10 minutes for even baking.
  • set aside & let cool.

for the roasted strawberries

  • preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • in a bowl toss strawberries & honey. pour onto a parchment lined baking tray.
  • roasted for 10-15 minutes, until strawberries become soft & juicy.
  • set aside & let cool.

for the honey greek yogurt

  • in a bowl add yogurt & honey. stir until evenly mixed.

for assembly

  • in a clear glass or parfair dish layer yogurt, granola & strawberries. repeated until you reach the top of the glass.

this post was created in partnership with bee raw. they have so many unique flavours of honey, i seriously want them ALL.