So a few weeks ago… actually it was probably more than that but I’ve been kinda busy… anyway a while back the lovely folks at P♥M Wonderful contacted me and offered to send me some of their pomegranate juice, and I immediately began thinking of what I could make with it. I’ve seen a lot of dark chocolate/pomegranate combinations and I knew I didn’t want to do that, since everyone does that it seems. So when I happened upon this recipe I decided that’s what I’d do. White chocolate! Why didn’t I think of that!? Anyway, I tweaked it a bit , came up with a glaze concept and changed it to suit me better, but essentially it’s all her idea.

The health benefits of pomegranate are really incredible, take a look:

Pomegranate juice has a superior ability to prevent LDL cholesterol from being oxidized by free radicals. Emerging science suggests that LDL oxidation may be a precursor to atherosclerosis or arterial plaque.

With uniquely high levels of powerful antioxidants, POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice has demonstrated a superior ability to neutralize harmful free radicals.

Pomegranates also help decrease inflammation. So really, it’s one of those awesome fruits that you should eat more of. Even if that means you make these delicious white chocolate pomegranate cupcakes to do so.

WHITE CHOCOLATE POMEGRANATE CUPCAKES

Cupcakes:

• 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup P♥M Wonderful pomegranate juice
• 3 large egg whites

Glaze:

• ½ cup P♥M Wonderful pomegranate juice
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line three 6-cup muffin pans with paper liners. Place white chocolate in metal bowl set over pan of barely simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and vanilla in large bowl until blended. Add hot white chocolate to sugar mixture; stir to combine. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with pomegranate juice in 2 additions, beating batter just to combine between additions.
3. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gently fold egg white mixture into batter in 3 additions.
4. Divide batter among muffin cups (about ¼ cup each). Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool completely.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Ingredients:

• 4 ½ ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Directions:

1. Stir white chocolate in metal bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in medium bowl until fluffy.
2. Gradually beat in melted white chocolate. Let cool until thickened to spreadable consistency. Make glaze by mixing pomegranate juice and confectioner’s sugar in a small bowl until completely blended. Add more sugar if needed, the thickness needs to be thick enough that it forms a slight “shell” when it begins to dry.
3. Dip the top of the cooled cupcakes in pomegranate glaze, let the excess run off. Put aside and allow to “set.” Pipe  frosting over glaze on cupcakes after it’s completely set.

I used those fancy lil nut cups for these, so I didn’t use ¼ cup to fill them, I just filled them 5/8′s full. But if YOU use these cups, you should fill yours ½ full, because mine went over the tops and some of them fell apart.

I chose to just pipe a little “wreath” of frosting over the glaze. You can do whatever you like, even frost them and then dip them in the glaze.

Bottom line: these are some bad-ass cuppin’ cakes.

Oh- and before you go… there’s still time to enter the giveaway! It ends October 12th at midnight EST. Get those entries in, guys, the prizes are so worth it!