At first my idea was to make some spiked cupcakes, but as many of us moms can relate… things don’t always go as planned.
This month I’m sharing these simple and delicious Strawberries & Cream Cupcakes.
My original idea was derailed first because I was too lazy to get some alcohol, but also because I had recently tried to make a cake using my favorite wine and it didn’t quite turn out how I would’ve liked. Although it did taste very good, I need to work on how the cake texture turned out. The second reason that I veered from my original plan is because I came across a recipe for Moist Vanilla Cupcakes from Life, Love and Sugar. I’m always on the lookout for vanilla cake recipes because the perfect vanilla cake has been eluding me for quite some time.
What drew me to this particular recipe is that it was formulated very similarly to one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes. One of the keys to this recipe is that you add hot water at the very end of the recipe. My brilliant husband had asked me before if I could basically make a vanilla cake out of that chocolate cake recipe. I knew that I just couldn’t omit the cocoa and call it a day because the dry to wet ingredients would be off. In true Gemini fashion I hadn’t gotten around to making some test runs. LOL
I was SO very pleased with the result from this recipe. The cupcakes have a nice fluffy texture. They are not dry as vanilla cake so often tends to be. I paired them up with a light and fluffy vanilla buttercream with just a little cream cheese in it and a fresh strawberry puree. My kids gobbled them up like it was the best thing they’d eaten all day. 🙂 My oldest daughter requested that I make them for her birthday and my youngest daughter actually ate the ENTIRE thing (she normally is a lick-off-the-buttercream-and-take-two-bites-of-the-cupcake kind of girl).
Show a little love this Valentine’s Day and make these Strawberries & Cream Cupcakes!
xox Roxana- The Red Eye Baker
How about these summery cupcakes?… Lemon & Blueberry Cream Cupcakes or Lemon Lavender Cupcakes.
- VANILLA CUPCAKES
- 1 1/4 c flour
- 1 c sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 c milk
- 1/4 c canola oil
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 c hot water
- VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
- 3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
- 2 oz cream cheese (I took it straight from the refrigerator, make sure it’s not too warm)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 – 3 c powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 – 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- STRAWBERRY PUREE
- 8 oz fresh strawberries, washed and destemmed
- juice of half a lemon (approximately 2 tbsp)
- 1/4 c sugar
- fresh strawberries sliced in half for garnish
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with liners.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and whisk together.
- In a small mixing bowl combine the milk, oil, vanilla, and egg together.
- With the mixer on low speed slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, scrape the bowl down as needed. Increase the mixer to medium until just combined and scrape the bowl down again.
- Return the mixer to low speed and slowly add the hot water. Scrape the bowl down and mix briefly on medium speed until combined.
- Using a scoop, fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full and bake for 14 -17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a few cupcakes comes clean.
- Allow to cool for a minute in the pan then move to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment whip the butter until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and beat well.
- Add the salt and with the mixer on low speed begin adding the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time beating well after each addition scraping the bowl down as needed.
- Add the vanilla and heavy whipping cream and beat on medium high speed until light and fluffy.
- Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar in a blender and puree until smooth.
- Using your favorite decorating tip pipe a swirl of buttercream on each of the cooled cupcakes.
- Just before serving, drizzle with some of the strawberry puree and garnish with a half of a fresh strawberry.
- *store any leftover cupcakes in the refrigerator.
The cupcake recipe above was taken from Life, Love and Sugar (I made a half recipe which is what’s shown here).
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