Ripe, juicy strawberries and freshly whipped sweet cream are a classic match made in heaven. The sweetness of the berries marries perfectly with the cool cream, making it a perennial summertime favourite.
Cupcakes are Fun
Cupcakes had their moment a couple of years ago as a trendy dessert, appearing on menus from humble cafes to haute dining establishments. Although the hype has died down and trend setters have moved on, cupcakes remain popular and are perfect for serving crowds and children because they don’t require forks, plates and serving utensils.
Seasonal Strawberries
Use fresh strawberries for this recipe, preferably in season and as fresh and ripe as possible. Avoid berries that appear under ripe or have been shipped hundreds of miles in the middle of the winter. They will likely be sour and tasteless. Frozen strawberries are too mushy to use in the batter and will make the cupcakes soggy.
Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes
Strawberry Cupcakes
Makes 12 small cupcakes
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2/3 cup + 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Seeds scraped from ½ fresh vanilla bean
- 3 Tablespoons milk
- 1-1/2 cups + 2 teaspoons flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-1/2 cups whole strawberries
- 12 cupcake liners
- Sliced strawberries for garnish
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream butter and 2/3 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Continue beating and add eggs one at a time until each one is mixed in.
- Add vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds and milk. Beat well, until mixture is smooth.
- With mixer on low speed, slowly add 1-1/2 cups of the flour, salt and baking powder to the wet ingredients. Beat until thoroughly mixed and smooth and set batter aside.
- Cut strawberries into quarters and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon sugar. Add 2 teaspoons flour to strawberry mixture and stir to evenly coat berries.
- Gently fold strawberries into the batter mixture. Place cupcake liners into a muffin tin and spoon batter into them until just below the liner rim.
- Bake cupcakes for about 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cupcakes can be baked in batches if the muffin tin is small.
- Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
- 1 cup milk
- 5 Tablespoons flour
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup shortening at room temperature
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup icing sugar
- In a small saucepan on medium heat, whisk together milk and flour. Cook until thick (about 5 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
- With a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together butter, shortening and granulated sugar on high for 5 minutes.
- Add cooled flour/milk mixture to the butter and shortening and beat on high for another 5 minutes. Add vanilla and icing sugar and beat for another 2 minutes. Frost cooled cupcakes and garnish with sliced strawberries.
 |
