Really Real Strawberry Cupcakes Recipes

REALLY REAL STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with 20 cupcake liners (for mini cupcakes, line 72 mini muffin tins).
• Grind strawberries into a fine powder using a coffee grinder or food processor. Whisk strawberry powder, all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.
• Beat butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in vanilla extract.
• Stir flour mixture, alternately with the milk, into butter mixture until just incorporated. Fill lined tins with cupcake batter.
• Bake in preheated oven until cupcakes spring back when gently touched with a fingertip or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 16 to 18 minutes for regular cupcakes, 8 to 10 minutes for mini cupcakes.

REAL STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray cupcake cups with cooking spray, or line with cupcake liners.
• Place 8 strawberries into a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour the puree through a strainer to remove seeds. Puree should equal about 3/4 cup. Set the puree aside.
• In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, white sugar, vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, lemon zest, and strawberry puree until well combined. Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla pudding mix (for a moister cupcake), and red food coloring to reach a desired shade of pink. Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake cups, filling each about 2/3 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the cupcakes have risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool at least 10 minutes before frosting.
• To make frosting, beat cream cheese and butter together in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until smooth, and mix in confectioners' sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract to make a lump-free icing. Frost each cupcake with about 2 tablespoons of icing, and top each cupcake with a strawberry slice.

MARTHA'S STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 1/2 standard 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.
• Into a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and then beat in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition. Fold in strawberries.
• Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups so that each is about two-thirds full, about 2 ounces each. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cupcakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely on wire racks.
• Make Strawberry Meringue Buttercream and spread or pipe about 1/2 cup frosting on top of each cupcake. Garnish with strawberries, cut into halves, quarters, or left whole, depending on the size.