White Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream

Rich white chocolate cupcakes with a delicate swirl of ultra creamy buttercream frosting laced with peppermint… perfect for any occasion! 

These aren’t your typical cupcakes!  Soft and fluffy cupcakes with a subtle white chocolate flavor topped with a decadent buttercream that’s kissed with peppermint flavor.  These are perfect for any gathering, and these white chocolate cupcakes can even be made ahead of time!

These are one of my favorite desserts during the holiday season… the rich white chocolate taste contrasts really nicely to the cool and creamy peppermint frosting!

But if you’re not a fan of peppermint, these cupcake are great with regular buttercream as well, just omit the peppermint extract from the recipe.

These cupcakes are definitely moist, but due to the chocolate in them, they’re a little “denser” than my other cupcakes.  Don’t let the denseness fool you, they’re not dry at all!

The white chocolate flavor in the cupcakes is subtle, and not in your face.  It’s a hint, a slight taste of that familiar sweet richness.  If you wanted a more intense flavor, you could make your frosting a white chocolate buttercream!

I mentioned you can make these ahead of time… and you totally can!  I’ve made cupcakes a week or more ahead of time, and they’re still super moist the day we eat them.  What’s the secret?  Freezing.

Once you make your cupcakes and let them cool completely, wrap them in plastic wrap.  How many you wrap depends on how long you want to freeze them.  If you’ll be using them within a week, I would wrap 3 at a time, like a little 3 pack.  For longer freezing times, I would wrap each cupcake individually.

Take the wrapped cupcakes, place them in ziptop plastic bags and lay them flat in the freezer.

These white chocolate cupcakes look all festive and ready for the Christmas season, but the pretty pink color would also be great for Valentine’s Day and the refreshing peppermint flavor is delicious year round!

I used vanilla bean paste in the cupcakes, so the little black flecks are from the vanilla beans.

I can’t wait to try this cupcake base with more frosting flavors and the peppermint frosting with a chocolate cupcake!

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!

White Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream

5 from 1 vote

Author: The Chunky Chef

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 cupcakes

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Rich white chocolate cupcakes with a delicate swirl of ultra creamy buttercream frosting laced with peppermint... perfect for any occasion!

Ingredients

• ▢ 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• ▢ 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 cup all purpose flour
• ▢ 1/2 cup cake flour
• ▢ 1 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 cup buttermilk
• ▢ 1 Tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• ▢ 2/3 cup granulated sugar two thirds
• ▢ 6 Tbsp butter room temperature
• ▢ 2 in large eggs room temperature (or place eggs a dish of warm water for 5 minutes before using)
• ▢ PEPPERMINT BUTTERCREAM:
• ▢ 1/2 cup butter softened
• ▢ 2 - 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar depending on your tastes
• ▢ 2 Tbsp heavy cream
• ▢ 3/4 tsp peppermint extract
• ▢ Red food coloring optional
• ▢ Crushed candy canes

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place liners in a standard size muffin pan and set aside.
• Place white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and drizzle with vegetable oil. Microwave, 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each microwaved time, until chocolate is 90% melted. Stir to melt the rest of the chocolate, until smooth, and set aside to cool.
• Add butter and sugar to the bottom of a stand mixer and beat on MED HIGH speed until fluffy and light in color, about 2-3 minutes.
• Add in eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Beat in the cooled white chocolate and vanilla extract.
• To a medium mixing bowl, add both flours, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
• Add in flour, one third of the mixture at a time, and alternating with the buttermilk, on LOW speed until just combined. Scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Using a large cookie scoop or one third measuring cup, scoop the batter into the paper liners, filling them about 2/3 (two thirds) of the way full.
• Bake approximately 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
• Cool in muffin tin for 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  
• FOR THE FROSTING:
• Add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on MED HIGH for about 4-5 minutes, until very light and fluffy.
• Add in powdered sugar and beat on LOW until combined.
• Mixture will look very dry.
• Add heavy cream and peppermint extract and beat on LOW until smooth and silky.
• Add food coloring, if using.
• Turn mixer speed up to MED or MED HIGH and beat for several minutes, until light and airy.
• Spoon into pastry bag fitted with a decorating tip (I used an open star tip) and pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
• Sprinkle with crushed candy canes or sprinkles.

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Chef Tips

** Recipe adapted from Leite's Culinaria

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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