Strawberry Cupcakes

Nothing makes me happier than baking something pretty, and you can’t get much prettier than pink cupcakes with pink frosting! I went to Costco a few days ago to stock up on some baking supplies. While there, I picked up a huge container of strawberries, perfect for making these Strawberry Cupcakes. The recipe is Martha Stewart’s Strawberry Cupcakes  

First step: cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until pale and fluffy. 

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate each. Next, add half of the pre-sifted flours, baking powder, and salt. Pour in one cup of milk, then the remaining flour mixture. 

Fold in 2 cups of chopped Strawberries by hand. My advice is to chop all the strawberries before mixing any of the ingredients, it took forever!

Ready for the oven! This recipe yields 34 cupcakes (I ended up with 39 and I did accidentally overfill a couple) so be prepared to line 3 trays with cups. 

Time to whip up the frosting. I am making a simple butter cream frosting. To make the frosting, dissolve 3/4 cup sugar in 1/2 cup boiling water. Using an electric mixer, whip the sugar syrup and 1/4 cup meringue powder until soft peaks form. Next, add flavoring of choice (I used vanilla extract), 4 cups powdered sugar, followed by 1 1/2 cups butter. 

I added 1/3 cup of pureed strawberries for flavor and color. 

I piped tall peaks to accommodate the strawberry slice topper, since it each will get smooshed down a bit. 

Perfect! 

I sampled a cupcake (the ugliest one, of course) and it was delicious. The cake was moist and the strawberry chunks added a burst of flavor. The frosting was light and fluffy, not too sweet, with a fresh strawberry flavor. My office mates are in for a treat tomorrow morning!