White Chocolate Cranberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate, Cranberry, and Pistachio Cream Cheese Frosting (Art You Eat)
I’ve decided to enter a photo into the Art You Eat. Since CB won last month, she had influence in this month’s theme: Seasonal Cupcakes. I was very focused on cookies this holiday season, but I did manage to throw some cupcakes together. These cupcakes took two tries to perfect, but the outcome was worth the effort. The white chocolate is subtle but warm. I made the same white chocolate cupcake recipe that I made last year for Cupcake Hero: Coffee except this time I used dried cranberries instead of coffee. For the frosting, I made the white chocolate cream cheese frosting that I made for Cupcake Hero: White Chocolate and threw in more dried cranberries as well as some chopped pistachios.
I have to admit, these cupcakes took two tries to be edible. For the first batch, I threw some chopped pistachios in the cupcake batter as well. I made a rookie mistake (or I’m getting over confident) and didn’t taste test until all of the cupcakes were frosted with pretty swirls. Then hubby got home from work and we split a cupcake. With weird looks on our face, we just looked at each other. Neither of us wanted to say it out loud. They tasted funny… almost meaty… in fact, almost bacon-ey. How is that possible?!? I know pistachios are “meaty” nuts, but come on – how could this happen… Pistachio, cranberry and white chocolate is a very common cookie combination, so I still don’t understand how they tasted so meaty. The next morning I tried another one, hoping that the taste had gone away. No such luck. The entire batch went into the trash. That’s only the second time that has happened (the first time was with some low-fat carrot cupcakes).
For my second try, I decided to leave out the pistachios. Since the nuts seemed to cause the meaty flavor. I did want to put the pistachios in the frosting again because that was really good. The second batch is delicious. I’m a big fan of cranberries so I really enjoyed these cupcakes.
White Chocolate cupcake (from Crazy about Cupcakes) – makes 24
2/3 cup milk
1 Tbsp white vinegar
2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips – I melted the chocolate chips
1/3 cup water – I omitted the water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 325. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
Combine the milk and vinegar in a cup. Set aside for at least 5 minutes. Combine the vanilla extract with 1/2 Tbsp instant espresso and set aside.
In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
Combine 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips and the water in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until melted, stirring continuously. I used a double boiler to melt the white chocolate.
Add the vanilla and white chocolate mixture to the creamed mixture.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk-and-vinegar mixture, beating for 1 minutes after each addition.
Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.
White chocolate cream cheese frosting – from Baking Bites
4-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1-oz white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp milk or cream
2-3 cups confectioners’ sugar
~1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
~1/2 cup chopped pistachios
In a large mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese, butter and melted white chocolate.
Beat in vanilla and milk, then add in the confectioners’ sugar gradually until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. Stir in the cranberries and pistachios.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
How cool! These look delicious!
This totally takes me back to childhood. We ALWAYS used fresh rhubarb from our backyard to make yummy breakfast treats!
I think I will have to make these for my parents next time they visit. They will LOVE them!
Those look amazing! I’m always on the lookout for new rhubarb recipes, the season for it is so short in Western Ma, that I tend to buy WAY too much and stick in the freezer..
I have never had rhubarb before, but these look great!
They’re so pretty – I love family recipes!
I never know what to do with Rhubard, but these looks awesome!
divine. i want one. right now. pretty please?? 🙂
I love your recipes, lactose free and awesome, I will def. have to try this. Ps. we should team up and do something lactose free together in solidarity!
Thanks everyone – seriously if you have rhubarb hanging around. Make these. You won’t regret it.
I’m a little lost. The ingredients list mentions 5 c. rhubarb (and you break it into 3 c. for the filling and 2 c. for the sauce) but I don’t see in the step-by-step instructions when/where/how the 2 c. of rhubarb are used. Please help!
Thanks!
alexandjess – thanks for catching my mistake. I added the instructions about the sauce into the post, but you make the sauce by boiling 2 cups cut rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, 1 1/3 cups water. The rhubarb for the sauce can be cut in large chunks because it all falls apart anyways.
Your sisters made the rhubarb rolls and stuffed dates yesterday for our Memorial Day cookout. They were delicious!!!! Can’t wait to have another piece tonight for desert. I have a new recipe for potato salad that is delish….let me know if you want me to pass on.
i made these tonight and they went awry for a series of reasons that were my fault and won’t go all into…. one thing i did though was use half rhubarb and half strawberries, which sounded delish but i didn’t cut the sugar enough and i think that also made things more watery. my question though, is whether by ‘shortening’ you specifically mean something like crisco or whether you just mean butter or margarine or anything like that. i used butter and didn’t see how i could get away with a little ‘stirring’ before rolling. i tried to cut it in with a pastry blender, but in the end maybe that was too much action for the dough as it seemed a little gummy after cooking….
i’d appreciate any advice!
natasha – I use Crisco for the dough. I think that’s what my dad always uses as well. Hopefully that is what caused the gumminess. Sorry they didn’t turn out for you.
My family has been making these for years. I have used butter or margarine to cut into the flour mixture for the dough and have never had a problem. I always roll my dough out into a rectangle and when I cut the rolls they NEVER look as neat as the ones you have pictured! I have added strawberries but only in the sauce. My mom liked to add red food coloring to make it look more rosy. We bake for 20 minutes before pouring on the sauce and then another 20 minutes. I have to make it every spring in honor of my mom.
my grandma recipe calls thesr soringtime rollypoly, and can ad what ever frozen berries you have , frozen is the least messy
sorry thats springtime rollypolly