Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes, Two Ways

Heh, these pics have been waiting since July 1st to make it to the blog. Its been a BUSY week! I am kinda glad I didn't do it on time; its so stinkin' hot here right now, and we are still without central air conditioning for at least 2 more weeks (waah!!) so I am not in the mood to crank up the oven to add to the heat and humidity I am already dealing with. Wow, I just rationalized my procrastination.

Anyway...

On Canada Day (yeah, same day as my daughter's final soccer game ) our dearest friends were having their annual Canada Day party. Everything was chaos for us though-party in the afternoon, rush off to my daughters game, then DH had to go to work night shift...alot of running around and not much relaxing unfortunately. But anyway where was I? Oh yeah. For our friends Canada Day bash, I volunteered to make cupcakes (of course!!) 4 dozen was the suggested number, and I gave them quite an assortment: Some Peanut Butter Cupcakes, Some chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting ( I didn't get a pic, but they were sooo cute, with little chocolate Teddy Grahms poking out of the top!), and the star of the show was Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes.

I slightly modified a recipe from Sprinkles Cupcakes to create these cupcakes. I made this recipe about a month ago (but didn't blog it, duh) and found the cupcakes to be very light, so I wanted to try using whole eggs instead of the whites suggested. I found it added just a touch of richness to the batter; just what I wanted. These have HUGE strawberry flavor without being overly sweet. I found Sprinkles frosting to be too sweet for my tastes, so instead I used my Great Frosting recipe and simply added 1/4 cup of strawberry puree (described below) to it.

I had some extra frosting, and some extra chocolate cupcakes, so I thought what the heck? Chocolate and Strawberry? Why not!



Terrible lighting, but the shot below was an afterthought, when I was bringing the cupcakes back inside to pack away for taking to the party. Aren't they a cute couple?

Strawberry Cupcakes (Adapted from a recipe by Sprinkles Cupcakes)
Makes 2 dozen

1 1/2 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2x 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

2. Using a food processor or an immersion blender (my favorite), process strawberries until pureed. Strain thru a fine sieve to remove seeds. Reserve 2/3 cup of the puree for in the cupcakes; save the rest for your frosting.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and 2/3 cup of strawberry puree; set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add eggs, one at a time, until just blended.

5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 20 minutes. Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.