Strawberry Cupcakes Recipe

I’ve received a few requests for the recipe for the Strawberry Cupcakes that I lasted posted about. So here goes. I believe the recipe comes from the Sur La Table cookbook “The Art & Soul of Cooking”. And the instructions I have aren’t exactly complete, so I’ve added commentary as necessary to explain how I made them.

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs plus 1 large egg white
• 1 cup whole milk (I used 1%)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups finely chopped strawberries, plus small strawberries for garnish
• Strawberry Buttercream, recipe follows

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (I set our oven at 365 degrees).
• Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. (I used my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer.)
• Add the eggs, one at a time. Combine well between each egg.
• Add milk and vanilla. Mix on medium until well combined.
• Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
• Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture until well combined. Be sure to scrape the bowl to ensure everything is mixed well.
• Fold in the strawberries.
• Line mini-cupcake tin with mini-cupcake liners. Using a small scoop, fill cupcake liners (about 3/4 full) with cupcake mixture.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until firm to touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (I had to bake mine for 20 minutes.)
• Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:

• 4 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, pureed (measure first, then puree)

Instructions:

• Place the whites and sugar in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a post of simmering water. Whisk until the sugar dissolves and mixture registers 160 degrees on a candy thermometer.
• Remove from heat, and attach bowl to mixer. Whisk on medium speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form (about 6 minutes). Reduce speed to medium, and add butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking well after each addition.
• Switch to paddle attachment. With mixer on low, add strawberry puree, and beat until smooth (about 3 to 5 minutes). Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth before using.)

Notes about the process.

• Overall, the cupcakes themselves are pretty easy to make. And using to a scoop to fill your cupcake liners is totally the way to go. The scoop I used for my minis was purchased at Target. I picked up a larger scoop at SLT for making regular size cupcakes (fill about 2/3 way).
• I pre-measured everything out ahead of time. This way, I make sure I have everything and then I can just focus on the actual mixing process and don’t forget anything.
• For the frosting, I used a regular candy thermometer. But I really want to get one of these chef’s laser probe thermometers. We used something similar in class (as well as in the Chocolate workshop I took last spring).
• Be patient with the frosting. It really does take the time outlined to mix up correctly. Before adding the butter, feel the sides of the bowl and make sure the mixture has cooled down. Otherwise, the butter will melt and you’ll end up with more of a glaze than a frosting. (Yes, we learned this one in class.)
• The recipe says it will make 34 cupcakes (regular size). I made 72 mini-cupcakes with this recipe and had plenty of frosting left over.
• Lastly, enjoy. These are a really nice change from the overly sweet cupcakes that you might come across.