Strawberry Cupcakes - Everyday Annie

This is the second time in a few weeks that I’ve made these cupcakes. The first time I made them I think I had one or maybe two, and the rest were given away. I’ve been wanting another ever since, so I just had to make them again! The chunks of fresh strawberry throughout the cake and strawberry puree in the frosting give them a wonderful real strawberry flavor. These really beat the pants off the strawberry cupcakes I used to make! During my first attempt at these the frosting came out nothing like the way I think it was supposed to, even though I followed the recipe exactly. This time I made my own modifications and I was much more pleased with the result. Pink frosting with a great strawberry flavor but firm enough to be able to pipe onto the cupcakes. Success! The frosting is quite a bit more pink in real life than in these pics, but feel free to add a little food coloring to achieve your desired “pinkness” :-)

(Edited on 7/24/09 to add a new photo)

Yield about 18 cupcakes

Ingredients

2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk
¼ cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups chopped strawberries
½ c. strawberries
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar, sifted
½ tsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla

Directions

01
Preheat the oven to 350°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
02
Sift flour, salt and baking soda into a medium bowl. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until combined. Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla and beat until combined. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in chopped strawberries. Fill cupcake wells ¾ full with batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
03
For the frosting, puree strawberries in food processor. Strain through a mesh sieve to remove seeds, and set aside. Beat the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add lemon juice, vanilla and strawberry puree. Adjust the amount of puree to achieve your desired consistency. Frost cupcakes when completely cool.

Source

adapted from Good Things Catered