These white chocolate cupcakes have a moist vanilla cake base filled with creamy white chocolate ganache, and then topped with fluffy white chocolate buttercream! These cupcakes are a white chocolate lovers dream!
You might also like these dark chocolate fudge cupcakes or these white chocolate madeleines!
Jump to:
Ingredient Notes
You just need a few ingredients to make these white chocolate cupcakes!
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my cupcakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
White Chocolate - Use white chocolate baking bars as opposed to chocolate chips!! Chips contain emulsifiers that help them keep their shape, which also means they won't melt as smoothly for ganache.
Heavy Whipping Cream - This is for the ganache and cannot be substituted.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make White Chocolate Ganache
This white chocolate ganache is super easy to make, but I just have a couple quick notes!
- Use a spatula to combine the ganache as opposed to a whisk, so you don't incorporate any air.
- I recommend making the ganache at least a few hours before the cupcakes so that it has time to set.
Finely chop the white chocolate and place into a large bowl.
Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot to the touch but not boiling.
Pour over the chopped chocolate and let sit for about two minutes.
Using a spatula, gently mix until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is fully combined and smooth.
Let sit at room temperature or in the fridge until is has thickened enough to hold its shape.
If your ganache is too firm, microwave for 10 seconds to soften and then stir until ganache is the desired consistency.
How to Make White Chocolate Cupcakes
Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar.
Then add in the eggs and vanilla whisk until fully combined.
Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
Let the cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
Use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with 1-2 teaspoons of thickened white chocolate ganache.
Frost the filled white chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate buttercream and then garnish with pieces of white chocolate and white chocolate shavings!
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cupcake Decorating Tips
Make sure you let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting!!
Use a cupcake corer to easily remove the center of your cupcakes before filling with white chocolate ganache.
For these big beautiful white chocolate frosting swirls on these cupcakes, I use the 9FT tip from this decorating kit. The tips are much larger than standard sizes and so fun for decorating cupcakes!
You can garnish these white chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate shavings or pieces of a larger white chocolate bar!
Recipe FAQ's
These white chocolate cupcakes will last in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, they taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let them sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving.
Using a vegetable peeler, shave the edge of a white chocolate bar for narrow curls or the side of a chocolate bar for wider curls. I like to store white chocolate curls in a container in the freezer so that they stay fresh and don't melt!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Cupcake Recipes You Might Like!
If you love this recipe, please leave a star rating at the bottom of the page! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers.
Also be sure to add us as a trusted site on Google so that our recipes show up more in your searches!
For more delicious, scratch-made recipes you can subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on social media!
Recipe Card
White Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
White Chocolate Ganache
- 8 ounces white chocolate
- ½ cup heavy cream
Cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup whole milk
White Chocolate Buttercream
- 4 ounces white chocolate , melted and cooled
- 1 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream, as needed
Top With
- white chocolate shavings
- white chocolate pieces
Instructions
White Chocolate Ganache
- Finely chop the white chocolate and place into a large bowl.
- Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot to the touch but not boiling.
- Pour over the chopped chocolate and let sit for about two minutes.
- Using a spatula, gently mix until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is fully combined and smooth.
- Let sit at room temperature or in the fridge until is has thickened enough to hold its shape.
- If your ganache is too firm, microwave for 10 seconds to soften and then stir until ganache is the desired consistency.
Cupcakes
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar.
- Then add in the eggs and vanilla whisk until fully combined.
- Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
- Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with 1-2 teaspoons of thickened white chocolate ganache.
White Chocolate Buttercream
- Melt the white chocolate and let cool almost to room temperature. It should be melted but cool to the touch. I prefer to melt the chocolate in the microwave in intervals of 20 seconds, stirring each time.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth.
- Set the mixer to low speed and slowly drizzle in the melted white chocolate until it's fully incorporated into the buttercream. Then beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until the buttercream is super light and fluffy.
- If the frosting is too thick, add in 1-2 teaspoons of cream at a time to thin it out a bit.
- Frost the filled white chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate buttercream and then garnish with pieces of white chocolate and white chocolate shavings.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Comments
No Comments