Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcakes

May 25, 2011



When I was little, and between bouts of frustration over the realization that one could not actually bake in an Easy Bake oven ( despite several failed attempts ), I used to have imaginary parties with my Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Occasionally She-Ra would join in, but only if that fickle Blueberry Muffin was off somewhere riding My Little Pony. They were not what I would call 'Tea' parties, because A: I was a tomboy girly girl, and B: I never was crazy about tea. Preferably I would have loved to call them soda parties, but since soda was taboo in the green-stuff stuffed fridge, I settled for...wait for it, H20. It was a sad excuse for a party, I was hoping my parents would realize this, break down, and by me a bottle of root beer and a box of Ho Hos. But they sat around the mini table and pretended to enjoy their water and non-existent cake. Cold, cold hearted they were. :-p

During those parties, I always imagined serving little delights like these cupcakes, which just ooze with whimsical memories of childhood. They're also bursting with strawberry flavour and all the lightness and joy that comes with it. Since I have a thing for texture (and by thing, I mean an obsession), I used ground granulated sugar for the frosting (see recipe), which gave it a pleasant crunchiness that popped out intermittently between the ripples of strawberry. The cupcakes themselves are soft, and moist, and naturally pink! If a little girls' Easy Bake oven could bake, this is what it'd make.



Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcake (adapted from Martha Stewart) Print

Cupcake ingredients
2/3 cup of fresh strawberries (cleaned, dry)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon of pure almond extract
1/2 cup (that's 1 stick) of unsalted butter ,at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg , at room temperature
2 large egg whites , at room temperature

Method
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree. Add a few more strawberries if necessary, or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt, whisk together and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla and strawberry puree; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes.) Slowly add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before frosting. [Note: My muffins were ready after only 18 minutes, so keep a close watch on them at that point.]

Frosting ingredients
1/2 cup whole strawberries (cleaned and dry with stems removed)
1 cup ( that's 2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm (let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted [Note: I used granulated sugar and ran it through the food processor for a few minutes. This gave the frosting a slight crunch that I found irresistible.]
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

Method
Place the strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes.) Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined.

Add the almond extract and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree mix until just blended [Note: I used 5 Tablespoons.].

Make sure that you don't over-mix, or frosting will incorporate too much air. It should have a dense, creamy ice-cream like consistency.

Makes 12 Cupcakes

8 comments:

  1. Yummy! They look fabulous and I loved the story - sounds a little too familiar! :) Nice change to the layout, too!

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  2. Just gorgeous - both the cupcakes and the blog. I never know what I'll find when I visit!

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  3. What delightful cupcakes! They must taste just as heavenly as they look.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  4. Dear Valerie, I love the look of these cupcakes. They are beautiful and the story behind the cupcakes is great. I know that my daughter had an "easy" bake oven and quite frankly there wasn't anything "easy" about it. It was quite frustrating actually. Well, I do love the cupcakes.
    I am following your blog and hope that you will give my blog a visit and follow if you like it. Thank you and blessings, Catherine

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  5. These look fantastic--I can't wait for strawberries to be in season up here. I like the sugar sub in the icing--I'm a texture fanatic too, and not that fond of cream cheese icings, so will try. Oh, and I had an easy bake oven as a kid, and was heartbroken when it stopped working, and my father took it apart and I discovered I'd been baking cakes with a lightbulb. That was the end of that.

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  6. ugh...i always wanted an easy bake, but my mum said our toaster oven would work better! these look delicious and so pretty pink!

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  7. These look so adorable. I love pink anything :)

    Where I grew up, there were no Easy Bake ovens [still aren't], so no chance of me wanting them :P Which is good, otherwise there'd be another case of childhood obesity.

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Thanks for visiting, and for taking the time to read through my ramblings!
If you have a recipe comment or question, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Baking!
♥ Valerie

 

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