So I have not updated the blog for a while due to my busy schedule at school. However, I have now graduated so I have time on my hands to start this blog again. To start things off, I want to share with you a recipe I recently fell in love with. It’s a recipe for strawberry cupcakes.
I am a sucker for baking anything using fresh ingredients like strawberry, oranges, blueberry and much more. I tend to shy away from recipes that call for food coloring even though it can deliver excellent colors at times. I just do not like the artificial part of it. So when I found this recipe for strawberry cupcakes, I had to try it.
I made this last weekend for a friend’s graduation party and everyone loved it. These would be perfect for any summer party you might have. The recipe used a box mix which was convenient considering I made another type of cupcake that day. The frosting was delicious and the cupcakes came out perfectly. Actually, they came out looking like biscuit but the frosting prettied them up nonetheless.
Aren’t they pretty?
The original recipe is from mybakingaddiction.com. I got almost all of the ingredients right. I forgot to get the vanilla pudding mix because I got confused when reading the recipe so I had to substitute it with something else. When I realized my mistakes, it was too late to run out and get one so I put in some white chocolate pudding mix instead. The cupcakes still came out good. It was a happy accident I would say.
I figured out that 20 minutes is my golden time for baking cupcakes so that’s how long I baked the cupcakes for. I made exactly 24 cupcakes. You can make the cupcakes the night before if needed. However, make the frosting before you are going to frost the cupcakes so it’s easier to pipe if you want. Since the frosting is a buttercream frosting, it will harden up if you put it in the fridge.
Here’s the recipe:
INGREDIENTS
For the Cupcakes
1 (15.25 ounce) package French Vanilla cake mix (I bought the one from Bettty Crocker)
1/2 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup Greek strawberry yogurt (I got Oikos strawberry yogurt)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup diced fresh strawberries (about 10 medium berries)
For the Strawberry Buttercream
4 sticks (2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
1.5 pounds (24 ounces or about 5.5 cups) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
about 8 medium fresh strawberries, pureed (you’ll need 4-5 tablespoons of puree)
DIRECTIONS:
For the Cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, Greek yogurt, oil, water, eggs and vanilla. Beat for about two minutes on medium speed until well combined. Fold in diced strawberries
3. Using a large cookie scoop, distribute the batter between 24 muffin wells; about 3 tablespoons of batter per well.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched. Allow cupcakes to cool inside muffin tins for about 10 minutes. The cupcakes may develop a slight divot in the center as they cool, but no worries, you’ll cover that with delicious frosting.
5. Remove cupcakes from muffin tins and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are cool, prepare your frosting.
For the Frosting
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes.
2. Turn the mixer down to low speed and gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar until it is completely incorporated. Add in vanilla and 3 tablespoons of the strawberry puree, mix until incorporated. Turn off the mixer and check the buttercream for taste and texture. Gradually add in the last 2 tablespoons of strawberry puree until you reach the desired level of strawberry flavor. Please note that adding more than the recommended 5 tablespoons could result in a thinner frosting. Turn the mixer back up to medium-high speed and beat the mixture for about 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy.
3. Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and if desired, garnish with fresh strawberries.
Have fun with it and good luck! 🙂
