MBCC: White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Phew! I was beginning to think I wouldn't get this entry in on time. What with school about to start and me working all the time, I really haven't had many chances to bake, but here I am with my entry and I'm happy I could make it! I'm going to apologize first of all. Because I had so little time, I didn't have time to take a bunch of photos, so I only have photos of the finished product. Eek! Sorry! But anyway, it's time for round 2 of Jamieanne's Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge and this month's ingredient was white chocolate! When I found out what the mystery ingredient was, I immediately began racking my brain to see how I could incorporate it. At first I thought candy bar. Maybe take a white chocolate candy bar and recreate it into a cupcake. But what bar? A Zero bar? A white chocolate Toblerone? But eventually, another combo hit me. What about white chocolate raspberry? The combination was inspired by an amazing cheesecake I had made before (which unfortunately I made before I started blogging), and as I got to thinking, I remembered that a while ago, I had made a recipe for a cheesecake flavored frosting and still had not gotten a chance to try it. Perfect! A white chocolate raspberry cheesecake cupcake! And then oh, I thought, why not go the whole nine yards and add a cookie crust to it? However, as I did these last minute, I didn't have time to grind the cookies and make a crust, so instead, I just put a whole vanilla wafer at the bottom of each cupcake liner and voila! It was perfect!

The cupcake isn't an actual cheesecake. Sometimes when people make "cheesecake cupcakes," they just make mini cheesecakes in cupcake liners. But this recipe is an actual cupcake. It's a white chocolate cupcake with white chocolate melted in and then chopped finely into the batter, sitting atop a vanilla wafer cookie. I used the cone method to fill it with raspberry preserves and then topped it off with a white chocolate cheesecake frosting. How is the frosting "cheesecake," you say? The secret is actually cheesecake flavored instant pudding! I got the idea a long time ago in order to try and make cream cheese frosting more appealing to myself. I've never been a fan of cream cheese, and although you add a bunch of sugar and flavoring to it in order to make a frosting, I've never cared much for cream cheese frosting either. Yet for some reason, I love cheesecake. Doesn't make sense, I know! So when I saw a cheesecake flavored instant pudding in the store one time, I thought that by adding it to a cream cheese frosting, I could make a tasty cheesecake flavored frosting that I actually liked. I threw some melted white chocolate in too to keep with the theme. I can't take too much credit for the cake recipe, because I only altered it slightly from a recipe I found on allrecipes, so I wanted to be sure to make up for it with this frosting, and I think I did!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes (adapted from Clara's White German Chocolate Cake on allrecipes)
Makes about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

• About 24 vanilla wafers
  
• 5 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate, chopped, divided
  
• 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
  
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup raspberry preserves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with liners. In each liner, drop a whole vanilla wafer to act as the crust. Set aside.
   
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt (this will be the second time the flour is sifted). Set aside.
3. In a small, microwave safe bowl, melt 4 squares of the white chocolate, preserving the last finely chopped square. Set the melted chocolate off to the side to cool slightly. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the yolks one at a time. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and mix until well combined. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Fold in the remaining chopped chocolate.
4. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners, pouring on top of the vanilla wafers.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan slightly then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
6. When the cupcakes have cooled, cut small holes in the top using the cone method. Fill each one with about a teaspoon of raspberry preserves and place the "lids" back on.

White Chocolate Cheesecake Frosting (my own recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 box cheesecake flavored instant pudding
• 2 ounces white chocolate, melted
• 4 cups powdered sugar, plus more if needed
  
• 2 tablespoons of milk, plus more if needed
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream the cream cheese until smooth. Add the box of cheesecake instant pudding mix and the melted white chocolate. Mix until well combined.
2. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time and then add in the milk and vanilla. Turn the mixer up to medium and beat until well combined and fluffy. Use immediately to frost cupcakes.
   
   

For all the information on this contest, please visit Jamieanne's Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge info page right here.

The winner of August’s Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge will receive prizes from:

• Bake It Pretty; $5 electronic gift card
• Beanilla; 3 Indian + 3 Tahitian vanilla beans & a jar of Ground Vanilla
• CT2Designs; a cupcake ring
• Miss Kitty Creations; a cupcake charm of your choice
• Sweet Cuppin Cakes; a prize pack worth $25

Thank you to all our prize sponsors!