Strawberry Rose Cupcakes and Flavor Crystals


Being able to play with new products is one of the fun things about food blogging. When I went to the Fancy Food Show in January, I noted some trends. One was the new delivery systems for flavors. There were flavored sprays, gels, and crystals. I was lucky enough to get sent some of the crystals: basil, mint, fennel, and rose.


The Herb and Flower Crystals are made by Fresh Origins. These flavor crystals are really flavored sugar crystals. Fairly large crystals at that. The most obvious use for them is on top of desserts such as cookies and cupcakes. They would also add a nice little bit of crunch on the top of a sundae.

To rim a glass for a cocktail, I had to grind them down a bit smaller with a pestle. I love basil muddled into my mocktails and  so having a glass rimmed with these crystals gives that bit of flavor as well.

You can find these crystals available online from Gourmet Sweet Botanicals and Marx Foods.




Strawberry Rose Cupcakes

White cake mix of your choice
6 large strawberries, diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in pan. Prepare cake mix as usual.
Mix together the cake mix and strawberries. Fill prepared cupcake lined pans up 2/3 of the liner. Bake for 20 minutes or until cake tester draws out cleanly. Remove from oven and let cupcakes cool completely.

Frosting

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon rose water

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the rose water.

When cupcakes are cooled, frost with icing.