Lychee and Rose Cupcake

I found a can of lychees at the grocery store a couple weeks ago and I’d read they were great to bake with so I decided it was time to try something exotic. I absolutely love a cream cheese rose frosting so I decided this was the perfect frosting for this exotic cupcake.Everyone raved over these cupcakes. They were so surprised by the use of two odd ingredients that made amazing cupcakes. I even had one person ask me how in the world I’d heard about lychees since they’re not commonly known. If you’re interested  in making these cupcakes  you can find the canned lychees in the oriental food section of your local grocery store.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:210]Source: Adapted from Fine Dining Lovers

Almond, Raspberry and Rose Cupcakes

I know what you’re thinking; you’re thinking “Rose, seriously? How am I supposed to bake with that? That’s a perfume flavor, not for baking!” I had the same thoughts before I started too! I’ve been wanting to try baking with Rose flavor for a while though so I decided it was high time.When baking with Rose you want to make sure you don’t use a lot. Less is more in this situation. If you add too much it will be like eating perfume. If you add too little though, you won’t be able to taste it. You must achieve a fine balance when using rose water as a flavoring agent. I recommend tasting the frosting after each addition of rose water to make certain you know where the flavor is at.The rose pairs excellently with the almond, raspberry and cream cheese flavors in the cake. You really get quite the flavor combination with this. The raspberry almond cake is light and springy. The ground almonds give the cake a slight bit of texture that provides a nice contrast to the smooth cream cheese frosting. I highly suggest picking up some rose water from your local grocery and trying these out. They may seem a little odd but they are surprisingly good![amd-yrecipe-recipe:79]