#55 Strawberry Cupcakes

Sorry about not posting as much but I've been enjoying some great lazy summer days and plus it's been a little to warm for baking. With summer coming to an end I wanted to share one of my summer favorites-Strawberries! The cupcakes were super moist and loaded with juicy strawberries. For the frosting I went with a swiss meringue buttercream which has an amazing silky and smooth texture. Think strawberry shortcake:)

Strawberry Cupcakes ( courtesy of Martha Stewart)

The Goods
2 3/4 cups flour sifted
1/2 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter room temp.
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 lg egg whites plus 1 egg room temp.
1 cup milk room temp.
2 cups finely chopped fresh strawberries

Nothing better than fresh local berries!!

The How To
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together both flours, baking powder and salt then set aside.

With an electric mixer on med-high speed cream together butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy.

Add whole eggs and the whites, one at a time beating until each is incorporated.

Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in two batches alternating with the milk. Fold in chopped strawberries by hand.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups filling each three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25mins rotating half way through the bake time. Transfer to wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Strawberry Meringue Buttercream

The Goods
1 1/2cups fresh strawberries rinsed and coarsely chopped
4lg egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter at room temp and cut into tablespoons

The How To
Puree strawberries in a food processor. Combine egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a stand mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved. The mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips.

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to med-high speed, mix until stiff peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy  and glossy. The bottom of the bowl should be completely cool. This should take about 10mins.

Turn the mixer to med-low speed and add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added switch to the paddle attachment and continue beating on low speed for 2mins. This will remove any air bubbles. Add strawberries and beat until combined.

Now frost and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Old Mcdonald Had A Farm....

I got the opportunity to make these adorable cupcakes for a little amazing boy's  first birthday. Each animal had a different flavor and filling too. I would have to say that the pig is my favorite!!! How about you?

  

Enjoy!!!

#53 Lemon Yogurt Raspberry Cupcakes

Well it's that time once again for MS Cupcake Club pick of the month. I've unfortunately missed the last 2 months but I luckily had sometime yesterday to make these lovely cupcakes picked by Jenny. Now if you have the Martha Stewart cupcake book you'll notice that these cupcake don't have frosting..... Well to me a cupcake isn't a cupcake unless it's got frosting! The only exception is cheesecake they really don't need frosting since they are so rich. Along with adding frosting I also decided to fill the centers with jam instead of cutting them up and layering the jam. Definitely much easier!


Lemon Yogurt Raspberry Cupcakes (courtesy of Martha Stewart)
When they ask for seconds you know it's a keeper!!!


The Goods
3 sticks of unsalted butter room temp.
2 3/4 cups flour sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3lg eggs separated, room temp
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 heaping tablespoon of lemon zest
4 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup of seedless raspberry jam or preserves


The How To
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt then set aside.

With the electric mixer on medium speed whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.

Add 1/2 cup sugar and whisk until peaks are stiff and glossy. Transfer to a large bowl.

In another bowl cream the butter on medium-high speed until smooth. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar and zest and beat until pale and fluffy.

Turn down the speed to medium-low and addd the yolks one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Mix in vanilla and lemon juice.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour in three batches alternating with two additions of yogurt, and beating until just combined after each. Whisk one third of the fluffy egg whites into the batter to lighten, then fold in the remaining whites.

It will be super thick before adding the egg whites.

Whisk in about 1/3 to lighten the batter.

Make sure to all the egg whites are folded in before baking.

 Divide batter evenly among tins filling each about three-quarters full. Bake for 18-20mins and rotate halfway through the bake time. Transfer tins to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes are cooling whip up some light and fluffy Swiss Buttercream you can find the directions from my Lemon blueberry cupcakes but instead of blueberries add in a 6oz container of fresh raspberries and 1 heaping tablespoon of lemon zest after all the butter has been added.

Time for assembly!!! Fill the centers with jam and top those cuppys with frosting and a fresh raspberry :)



Much better with frosting!!!

After frosting these I finished up on some new toppers for my store they look pretty good on the cupcakes!!


Click here to find out the details for these cute Monogram Cupcake Toppers!

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#37 Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

If your husband buys you lemons then whip up some cupcakes!!!
I actually wanted to do a blueberry cupcake but I was afraid of it being more like a muffin so I went with lemon. As I was hunting around for the perfect recipe I came across this blog The Cupcakery and decided this was it. As I was mixing up the batter I noticed it just wasn't lemony enough so I added another tablespoon and half and another teaspoon of zest. So the time came to test these little cups of sunshine out....Disappointment!!!! I found only a hint of lemon not HELLO here I am lemon! I was expecting it to me more like my pink lemonade cupcakes. Not to be completely discouraged and plus it's wasteful to totally dump and remake I just went with it. So onto the frosting. I went with a Swiss buttercream. It's heavenly!!!! The blueberries make the frosting a pretty purple which complemented the yellow cupcakes perfectly. The downfall was the flavor of the blueberry almost overpowered the lemon. BUT in a good way of course!!! lol! So anyways if you're a lemon fan I would suggest dumping in a lot more lemon or maybe adding in some lemon extract. If your going with just a subtle hint of lemon then this is the perfect recipe! Try it, test it and let me know if you love it!!!

Happy Baking!!!

Lemon Cupcakes (Courtesy of The Cupcakery)
These little cups of sunshine were taken to work to celebrate the birthdays of co-works for the month of February. This recipe made around 6 dozen mini cups and 1 dozen regular cups.
The Goods
2 stick of unsalted butter room temp
2 cups sugar
4eggs
3cups flour sifted
1/2teaspoon baking soda
1/2teaspoon salt
1 cup milk room temp
2 tablespoons lemon zest (I added an extra heaping tablespoon)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (I ended up using all the juice from one lemon so about 3-4tablespoons-it was a really juicy lemon!!)
The How To
Preheat oven to 350degrees. Make up the zest and squeeze the lemon juice then set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt then set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar for 3mins until fluffy.

 Reduce speed to  medium speed and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated.

Reduce the speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the two additions of milk, and beating until just combined after each. Add the lemon zest and juice. Mix for another minute. Mixture should look light and fluffy.

Divide the batter among the cupcake tins, filling each three-quarters full. If your making mini cups bake for 10-12mins. Start checking at 10. Make sure to rotate the tins halfway through the baking time. For regular sized cupcake bake for 18-20mins. Start checking at 18. Since this isn't Cupcake Wars, let cool completely before frosting!

I found these cute spring liners at Micheal's.

Blueberry Filling
Originally I was going to make lemon cupcake with blueberry filling but I had a change of heart and used this filling in the frosting. You can make this ahead of time and freeze it if needed.

The Goods
3 cups blueberries
2/3 cup light brown sugar packed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
pinch of salt

The How To
Combine 1 1/2cups blueberries and all remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a simmer, about 7mins. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until berries are very soft and liquid is syrupy, stirring often, about 7mins.

Remove from heat and add the remaining blueberries. Using the back of a spoon or a potato smasher, gently press the blueberries against the bottom or side of the pan until lightly crushed. If you don't really want big chunks of blueberry skins in your filling run it through the food processor first before adding.

Let cool completely. Either refrigerate or freeze if not used immediately.

Swiss Blueberry Buttercream (courtesy of Martha Stewart)
Make up the blueberry filling the night before so it's cooled and ready to add to the buttercream.

The Goods
1-1 1/2cups blueberry filling
4 lg egg whites room temp
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 sticks unsalted butter room temp cut into small pieces

The How To
Combine egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the tough and sugar has dissolved.

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, mix until stiff peaks form. Continue mixing until it becomes fluffy and glossy, and completely cool about 10mins.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all the butter has been added, scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula and switch to the paddle attachment, continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are gone, about 2mins.

Add filling start with a cup then add more if needed. Beat until combined. Stir with a flexible spatula until the frosting is smooth.

Now frost away!!

I topped off all the cupcakes with a blueberry and lemon zest.

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