Making these cupcakes was quite the up-and-down adventure. Things started out well enough... I whipped up the batter pretty quickly and stuck them in the oven, but then things started to go down hill. I made a vanilla frosting I found online and it pretty much sucked. It was runny and gooey and was an awful consistency. I tried adding more powdered sugar, but I eventually realized that it was just not going to work and chucked the whole batch. Frustrated, I turned to Google to find a decent "vanilla buttercream frosting" and printed the first one that didn't call for whipping cream or more than 4 cups of powdered sugar (I'm almost out...). Thankfully, it turned out very well and was perfect for frosting. When I had my first bite, all my frustration with the frosting melted away and I literally did a little jump. Seriously, these are yummy cupcakes.
Let me just say, before I got into cupcakes I thought that frosting would be really hard. Not so. You just throw a tip on the bag and squirt away. As long as you have a steady hand, you'll be fine. Pretty frosting isn't nearly as difficult to create as it looks like.
In all honesty, these cupcakes taste a lot like a muffin. I suppose the line between muffins and cupcakes is pretty thin anyways, but the cake itself has a rather muffin-y quality to it, and the chunks of strawberry only add to that. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I'm just "keeping it real", as a person more hip than I might say.
Makes approx. 18 cupcakes
1 and 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
3 teaspoons vanillaextract
2 and 1/4 cups flour
2teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 choppedstrawberries*
2-3 tablespoons milk,if needed
*I used 1.5 cups but thought they could use a bit more, so I've upped it to 2 for this recipe. If you really like strawberries, definitely go with 2 cups. For a lighter strawberry presence, only use 1.5 cups.
Preheat oven to 350degrees F.
Beat the butter and sugar together for about 2 minutes until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, mixuntil combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt with the mixer and mix until combined. Add in chopped strawberries and beat for 1-2 minutes until the strawberries break down. If the batter is too try, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Divide your batter evenly, filling each cup about 2/3 full, andbake for 20-23 or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out dry.
VanillaButtercream Frosting*
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons milk
Beat butter for a few minutes on medium speed. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and mix well until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. Add vanilla, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.
*I had just enough frosting for my 18 cupcakes. If you are planning on doing more frosting than I did, you'll need to add more to your recipe.
Frost cupcakes as desired. I used the Wilton 1M tip. Garnish with sliced strawberries.
And the final step: devour. You'll be glad you did.
