Raspberries and rosewater make an elegant cupcake that isn’t overpowering and still feels special and beautiful, even though it is gluten free.
By Lolly
I made these last night as a birthday cake alternative for my mother-in-law. I think gluten free food needs to be pretty and not have such a stigma attached to it as being boring. What’s prettier than a red rose? I find them seductively beautiful; the smell, the velvety feel of their petals, the deep pigment rich colour, the sacred geometry of the petal design. 
Personally, I love the flavour of rose, however I can find it over powering by itself, but when paired with berries, herbs, and some citrus, it just takes it to another level of complexity. I have used rose-water before in my recipes, but I wanted to try something a little more fun.
PrintGluten Free Raspberry and Rose Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cake
- 1/4 cup of soft unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup of caster sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 1/2 cups of gluten free self raising flour
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/2 cups of full fat milk
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 cup of frozen raspberries
For the frosting:
- 1 cup of unsalted butter, cubed and cold, not too soft
- 3 cups of pure icing sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract – you could substitute this for vanilla bean paste however I didn’t want to see the seeds in my icing
- 1 teaspoon of rose water
- 3–4 drops of rose pink food colouring – this could also be substituted for a 1/4 of a teaspoon of freeze dried beetroot powder if you are wanting to take a more natural approach.
- dash of milk
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 160*C [fan forced] (320F)
- Line a muffin or cupcake pan with liners.
- Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time until combined. Add the milk and half the flour and mix until uniform. Add the remaining flour and salt and continue mixing for 1minute.
- Stir through the frozen berries, and prepare your cupcake liners.
- To avoid overfilling, only fill the liners half way.
- Bake for 13-15minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
To make the frosting:
- Beat the butter until smooth for a few minutes using a paddle attachment in a standing mixer.
- Add the 3cups of icing sugar and mix on low for 1minute until combined.
- Pop in your rose-water, colour, vanilla and milk and mix on a high speed for 3-4 minutes. If your mixture is too wet, add extra icing sugar, to stiff? add a little more milk.
- Scoop a couple of scoops into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle; pipe your desired shape onto your cupcakes.
- Devour.
- Category: Baking, Cake
