adapted from Martha Stewart
The two-toned frosting technique is an easy way to make the rose cupcakes a bit more interesting. These cupcakes are a white cupcake recipe from Martha Stewart, and the frosting was a basic buttercream recipe. I really like the white cupcake recipe because it has a similar flavor as a vanilla cupcake, but it is much lighter and has a springier texture. I have made this recipe many times, and the cupcakes always come out moist and a beautiful pale white color that impress anyone who bites into the cupcakes. The basic buttercream recipe can sometimes be a little too sweet for my taste, but it has a stiff texture that holds better for the piped rose design. I tend to add less than the 3 cups of confectioners sugar that is called for, and add a pinch of salt to cut through some of the sweetness. I also added edible luster dust because it added a nice sparkle to the cupcakes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together. Stir vanilla into milk.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter until smooth. Gradually add sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture in three batches alternating with two additions of milk. Complete this step as quickly as possible to avoid overmixing the batter.
In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold one third of the egg whites into batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites in two batches.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.
For the buttercream, beat together the sugar and butter in a standing mixer fitted with a whisk on medium high until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add more cream if needed for desired consistency.
Divide the buttercream into two bowls with equal amounts in each. Dye the buttercream in one bowl to the desired shade. In a large piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1B tip or any other large closed star tip, spread one color of buttercream so that it fills half of the bag horizontally. Then, fill the rest of the bag with the other color of buttercream so that when the piping bag is held vertically as if to pipe, the two colors are side by side in the bag. Pipe onto a paper towel until the two colors come out of the bag at the same time. Then, hold the piping bag over the cupcake and press firmly, spiraling out from the center of the cupcake to create a rose shape.