Rose Lychee Raspberry Cupcakes

These Rose Lychee Raspberry Cupcakes are delicately flavoured with rose water and fresh lychee. It's topped with a lightly sweetened rose and raspberry buttercream and is naturally coloured pink.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, Asian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 17

Total Time 47

Servings

Calories 250kcal

Author Michelle

Ingredients

Lychee rose cupcakes:

3 fresh lychees seeds removed
25 ml whole milk or enough milk to make up a total of 60ml liquid when combined with the blended lychee
1 teaspoon rose water
100 g cake flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch fine sea salt
60 g unsalted butter room temperature
50 g granulated sugar
1 large egg
6 fresh raspberries blotted dry

Raspberry Swiss meringue buttercream:

1 large egg white
50 g granulated sugar
pinch sea salt
50 g unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon freeze-dried raspberry powder
1 teaspoon rose water

Garnish:

dried rose petals

Instructions

Make the lychee rose cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C.
Line a muffin tray with paper liners. Set aside.
In a blender, combine the fresh lychee (seed removed), milk and rose water.
Blend the lychee, milk and rose water until smooth. (Note: It's OK if there are small bits of lychee pieces, but if you prefer a smoother texture, you can blend it again and push the lychee milk through a sieve). Set aside.
Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.
To a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add the softened butter and sugar and cream until pale, light and fluffy.
Add in the egg and mix until the mixture is homogenous.
Use a spatula to fold the dry ingredients (cake flour, baking powder, salt) to the butter-egg mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the lychee milk. Don't overmix.
Transfer about 1 tablespoon of cupcake batter to the bottom of each muffin well.
Place a raspberry in the centre of the batter.
Cover with another tablespoon of cupcake batter.
Give the tray a few taps to release any air bubbles.
Bake the cupcakes at 350°F/177°C for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with the slightest crumbs clinging to it.
(Note: insert the toothpick off-center or you may hit the raspberry).
Let the cupcakes cool on a wire cooling rack.

Make the raspberry Swiss meringue buttercream:

Place egg white, granulated sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Create a double boiler by heating a pot of water on the stove.
Make sure the mixing bowl can be placed over top of the pot without the water touching the bottom of the bowl.
Place the bowl with the egg white over the simmering water.
Whisk constantly until the egg white mixture is thin and foamy and registers 160°F/71°C on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat. (If you don't have a thermometer, the sugar should be dissolved and feel hot to the touch).
Beat the egg mixture with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed until light and airy and cooled to room temperature, about 5 mins.
Reduce speed to medium and add butter, one piece at a time.
Once all butter is added, increase speed to high and beat 1 minute until light and fluffy and thoroughly combined.
Add the freeze-dried raspberry and rose into the buttercream and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Note: Swiss Meringue Buttercream can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.

Decorate the cupcakes:

Add the Swiss Meringue Buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip (I used a 1M Wilton star tip).
Pipe swirls of buttercream on the surface of the cupcakes.
Garnish with additional freeze-dried raspberry powder and dried rose petals.

Notes

Note 1: If the buttercream appears curdled, keep on beating. If it continues to look curdled or soupy after 5 minutes of beating, remove some of the buttercream (about ¼ of it) and heat it in a bowl for 10-15 seconds in the microwave. Then carefully pour the melted buttercream back into the mixer and the buttercream should whip up nicely.

Note 2: If you don't have raspberry powder, you can make it yourself by using a coffee/spice grinder to pulse the freeze-dried fruit into a fine powder. Be sure to sift it to remove any seeds/large chunks.

Nutrition