A little bit of experimentation in the kitchen produced a batch of cupcakes that, no lie, taste exactly like my favourite Indian drink- sweet lassi! The first time I was introduced to sweet lassi was at India Gate, a popular Indian restaurant at Robson and Granville, and I’ve been trying to re-create the recipe for the past few months. For your nibbling pleasure, here’s my recipe for sweet lassi cupcakes, with pink rosewater icing:

Recipe for Sweet Lassi cupcakes (with pink rosewater icing): 

Makes 2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients: 

For Cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cardamom (finely ground)
2 eggs
1/4 cup shortening (or butter)
1/2 cup plain, 5% yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons rose water
4 egg whites from large eggs
mint for garnishing (optional)

For Icing: 
1 cup room-temperature butter
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon rose water
1-2 teaspoons milk 
1-2 drops red food colouring 

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350*F and line muffin/cupcake pan with paper or foil liners.

- Cream the butter and sugar and then mix in the 2 eggs, yogurt, milk, and rose water. 

- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg whites until they become frothy. Set aside.

- In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Beat the wet mixture into the dry (if using a blender, beat on medium). Then, beat in the egg whites until the mix becomes creamy and almost foamy (if using a blender, beat on high). 

- Pour the mixture into the liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

- Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before icing and garnishing. To add mint garnish, tear off a small leaf of mint for each cupcake and stick into the icing.

To make the icing: 

- Cream the butter thoroughly, and then add sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Mix in the rose water, and add milk until the icing meets the desired consistency. 

- Add 1 to 2 drops of red food colouring, until the icing becomes a light to medium pink. 

- To ice the cupcakes, you can either decorate the cupcakes from a piping bag, or spread the icing on by placing a small dollop on top of each cupcake, and spreading it thinly with the back of a spoon.