Saturday's Sweets: Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

I am so excited for this post because I've been waiting a few weeks for it. Now that I'm home for the summer, I'm doing a series called "Saturday's Sweets". The idea is that I'm going to make some sort of sweet every Saturday to bring to some party or event if there is one, or to church the next morning. This way I can bake at least every week and have some place to bring them to. This means you can look forward to a   new recipe for sweets at least once a week. This will be a wonderful little experiment where I can test my baking skills, see what works and what doesn't, and explore new tastes and treats. Well, here we go!

I made these delightful little treats for my cousin Courtney's Bridal Shower this weekend. Some reviews I got for them were "Heavenly" and "Perfect" so, hopefully you try out this recipe and let me know what others think about them. Also, the idea for this recipe came from here.

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup 2% milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup salted butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 large egg whites

1/3 cup fresh strawberry puree (3 huge strawberries, or 6 large)

A few extra strawberries for frosting

Instructions:

-preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. 

1. Sift flour and baking powder into a small bowl and set eggs out so they become room temperature. 

2. Melt butter over medium heat in a sauce pan until it begins to become frothy.

This is what it looks like in the beginning.

 Then, stir it occasionally and wait for it to begin to turn dark golden brown and smell delicious. When I was doing this my mother walked in and asked "What is burning?" and right after that Alec walked in and asked "What smells so good?" It takes a few minutes for the butter to brown but, you'll know when its ready. Let it cool.

It ends up looking something like this. The top is still frothy but, the butter on the inside is a dark golden brown.

3. Puree the strawberries and then add the milk and vanilla to the strawberry puree. 

4. In another large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until it is combined. Then add the eggs and beat for another 2 minutes.

5. Next, add half the flour mixture and mix for a few seconds. Then, pour in the strawberry puree and mix some more.

6. Pour in the rest of the flour mixture but gently fold with a rubber spatula.  

7. Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full. They cupcakes will not rise too much.

8. Before baking, place a slice of strawberry in the middle of each cupcake. It is very important not to miss this step. Trust me, this will leave a wonderful surprise in the middle of each cupcake that you do not want to miss out on. 

9. Finally, bake for about 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.

Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

-1 cup unsalted butter, softened or room temperature

-3 or 4 cups confectioners sugar

-a pinch of salt

- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

-a few tablespoons of milk

Instructions:

1. Beat the butter in a mixer on medium until it is nice and smooth.

2. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and mix on low until the risk of creating a powdered sugar cloud in your kitchen passes. Then, mix on medium until it is fully incorporated. 

3.Next, add vanilla, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk. Beat for 3 minutes.

4. To perfect, add either milk (if frosting is too thick) or more sugar (if frosting is too thin) until your frosting is the right consistency. 

5. Pipe the buttercream on top of each cupcake once they have cooled. Top with a slice of fresh strawberry.

6. Invite people over to eat them and enjoy!

On a random note, I made my first frosting rose this weekend! I'm so excited that I can make these now and I can't wait to actually use them.