Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes With White Chocolate Buttercream Frost
"In Spring, a foodie's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of . . . STRAWBERRIES! In-season, beautifully red, and invitingly luscious. Now, how about a special way to prepare them? No one could be so jaded as to not be bowled over by these delicious, fresh strawberry cupcakes with white chocolate buttercream frosting, topped with more fresh berries. No, this isn't a quick and simple recipe, but neither is it terribly challenging. It does take time, but made with love, these irresistible cupcakes will reward you and your loved ones. I made them for my little girl's third birthday (double recipe!). My only regret is that there were no leftovers!"
- Ready In:
- 1hr 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 17
- Serves:
-
18
ingredients
-
CUPCAKES
- 1 1⁄2 cups chopped strawberries (about 1-pint basket)
- 1 1⁄4 cups turbinado sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3⁄4 cup heavy whipping cream
-
FROSTING
- 6 ounces white chocolate chips (do not use "baking chips," as they are not real chocolate!) or 6 ounces white chocolate baking bar (do not use "baking chips," as they are not real chocolate!)
- 1⁄4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar (or more)
-
GARNISH
- 1 dozen fresh strawberries, cut in halves
directions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 18 standard-size muffin cups with paper liners.
- Cupcakes: Mix chopped strawberries, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and lemon rind in medium-size saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Add in corn starch mixed with a little water. Stir and cook a minute more until mixture is thickened. Spoon into a bowl; let cool completely.
- Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
- Beat together butter and remaining 1 cup turbinado sugar in medium-size bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla.
- On low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture, alternating with cream, and ending with flour. Swirl in cooled strawberry mixture to create a marble pattern. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups.
- Bake in 350 degree F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until cupcakes are golden brown and they spring back when gently touched. Let cool completely before frosting them.
- Frosting: Melt white chocolate in a bowl over a pot of boiling water. Remove from heat. Stir in cream, butter, and sugar. Beat on high until light, fluffy, and well mixed (until little lumps are gone and the frosting holds it shape). You may need to add more confectioners' sugar to get the right consistency--not too loose, not too firm. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until needed.
- Frost tops of cupcakes. Top each with glazed strawberry piece(s). Makes 18 cupcakes.
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Reviews
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I'm really only rating the cake, not the icing, as I didn't have any white chocolate on hand. The cake was simple and moist, not as much strawberry flavor as I would like, next time, I will reduce the strawberry mixture a bit to concentrate the flavor more (it could also be because I used store bought strawberries...) Very good recipe, next time I will make sure to have the white chocolate for the frosting in the house! Thank you, Tumerica.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Tumerica is a freelance writer who has written essays that have appeared in the Santa Barbara News-Press, and in Santa Barbara’s arts and entertainment paper, The Independent. She regularly writes book reviews of graphic design and other non-fiction books for Technical Communication, the journal of the Society for Technical Communication. And she has written articles on writing for other writers, appearing in The Solitary Scrivener, and T-Zero.
Tumerica is a fanatic foodie and gourmet cook who has placed in a cooking contest and is working on a curry cookbook. She has published food articles for The Gastronome, the American magazine for the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. She also pens the occasional restaurant reviews, but admits to enjoying doing the research more than the actual writing. She also writes food articles for her blog at http://tumerica.blogspot.com with a focus on learning the underlying principals behind cooking, rather than slavishly following recipes.
Tumerica is a published poet, with her works appearing in the zine, Renaissance, and in a poetry anthology published by Glass Tesseract. She has recently finished her first book of poetry, Red and Green: On Passion and Ecocentrics, and is currently searching for a publisher.
She has had many incarnations in her job history. Among her titles have been: bassoonist, saxophonist, Jazz and Blues singer, graphic designer, science journal editor, narrator, teacher, artist, homeless shelter manager, and art model.
