When originally publishing this fun recipe for Rose-Cream Filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Candied Rose Petals I was a fairly new blogger. The gift of 'context' or backstory eluded me so many of my first recipes were shared straight up with succinct forwards such as 'these cupcakes are great, you should make them' before diving into the recipe. I'm sure readers were struck with the terse invitation!
This recipe in particular was created as a special surprise for my daughter’s birthday who would have been about 11 at the time. We had stumbled upon some rose extract at a cooking store and we were both enchanted at the idea of making food whose taste was how roses smell! Wanting to do something more exciting than merely flavoring the cupcakes or the frosting, I decided to fill the cupcakes with a rose-flavored buttercream to add a surprise in the middle which no one would guess until having a bite!
They turned out beautifully, the rose-cream nestled in simple vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting sprinkled with Candied Rose Petals (another fun project). I served the cupcakes with Rose Vanilla Ice Cream with Candied Rose Petals which everyone loved. I realize it probably sounds like rose-flavored overload, but the whimsy of using rose extract got the better of me and I gave into the whimsy of it all. Fortunately I realized early on that a little goes a long way in terms of using the extract for flavoring, and though I served up many rose-flavored treats, they were not overwhelmingly intense as they can be if too much flavoring is used.
What we felt would probably become a 'one hit wonder' in terms of rose flavoring turned out to be a coveted flavor which appears through Boulder Locavore recipes. One never knows were a simple idea will lead and what flavors one will grow to love!
These pretty cupcakes reveal a big surprise with delicate rose-flavored pink filling! The unexpected find makes them truly special and unique. The amount of rose extract is very small, but produces a big flavor and gives these cupcakes a soft rose taste. There are multiple methods to fill cupcakes and after some experimentation this method worked perfectly to preserve the integrity of the cupcake and allow a ‘just right’ amount of filling.
Recipe
Rose Cream filled Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 batch of Vanilla Cupcakes (unfrosted)
- 1 batch Frosting of your choice
- Decoration: Candied Rose Petals
Ingredients for Rose-Cream filling:
- ½ bag of Confectioner's Sugar
- ¼ cup Milk , room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ teaspoon Rose Extract (not rose water)
- 1 stick of Unsalted Butter , room temperature
- ¼ cup Shortening , room temperature
- Red food coloring (I use India Tree dyes which are food based, so the red is colored from beets)
Instructions
Instructions for Rose-Cream filling:
- In a mixer using the whisk attachment, combine powdered sugar, milk, salt, vanilla and rose extracts. Beat until smoothly combined.
- Slice the butter into half inch thick slices and add separately to the mixture; beating at medium speed to fully combine.
- Add shortening and whip on high until the buttercream is fully combined and whipped to double its original volume (approximately 15 minutes). You will see the texture change. Add food coloring drop by drop while mixing to achieve the color you desire.
Filling the cupcakes:
- With a sharp knife, cut a finger-width hole in the middle of the cupcake, with a depth of 3/4 of the cupcake's height (e.g. do not cut to the bottom of the cupcake).
- Pipe the rose-cream into the hole, filling to be flush with the top of the cupcake.
- Frost and decorate as you choose.
- When you bite into the cupcake it will look like this!
Nutrition
Lizzy says
I am buying that decorating kit!!! Thanks for the recommendation. First, you get me hooked on homemade ice cream, now I think it will be filled cupcakes…yours are picture perfect!
Becky says
Beautiful Cupcakes and GF. these would be perfect for a Bridal Shower. Amazing photos as always!
Firefly says
They look so good and yummy! Love the tips 🙂
Laurie Alves says
Awesome Tips!!! Great Post! Batter dispenser is definitely Genius!!!
Eizel says
Have award you the Stylish Blogger Award because you are a rocking blogger 🙂
Lisa @ Tarte du Jour says
Wow gluten free never looked so good! I love the “America's Test Kitchen” style taste testing and rating. Awesome job! I've never tried rose extract and now I have a new project!
Lynn @ I'll Have What She's Having says
Gorgeous pictures!
Is rose extract the same as rose water?
Lindsey @ Trail to Train says
Great stuff thanks for doing all of the research! I LOVE rose extract! There is a great mediterranean market near me that sells it and I scooped it up one day on a whim (because I MUST own every flavored extract imaginable right?)
P.S. I often stop at Stonewall Ktichen when I'm in Maine and I've had mixed results; some stuff I love, some I know I could do much better on mine. Such is life!
Carolyn says
The rose extract sounds delightful. I love this comparison of GF cake mixes too. Stonewall Kitchen does great jams and jellies, but you've sold me on the Pamela's instead for cake mix!
Aroma y Cocina says
They look wonderful. The only thing difficult, will be to get this rose extract. Where I live it is not traditional that women makes so much cakes. They always buy at the baker's, so it is so difficult that supermarkets, have such a lot of those assortements as you show us in your photos. I will have to visit Madrid, Valencia or Barcelona to get them. Other's go to visit museums: I go to buy useful things and ingredients for my ” cooking experiments”.
Thanks for sharing!