Strawberry Cupcakes 🍓 🧁

Name: Strawberry Cupcakes 🍓 🧁
Total time: 1440 s
Yield: Makes about 27 cupcakes
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 9 large strawberries: 5 for purée and 4 for chopping; 2 and 2/3 cups (270 g) bleached cake flour; 2 teaspoons (10 g) baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt; 3 Tablespoons powdered freeze-dried strawberries (see below - you’ll take them from the frosting ingredients); 1/2 cup (118 ml) whole milk; 1/2 cup sour cream; 1 large egg yolk; 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract; 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter cut into 1/4” slices; 1 and 1/2 cups (314 g) white sugar; 3 large egg whites, at room temperature; 1 and 1/2 cups freeze-dried strawberries (~35 g) Crush them into powder, then use 3 Tablespoons for the cupcake batter; 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter cut into 1/4” slices; 4 cups (440 g) powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract; A few teaspoons of milk or heavy cream as needed to adjust the frosting’s consistency

Chris Gan @ChrissyAlpha

We hosted a potluck dinner recently, and I asked my four-year-old daughter what we should make for dessert. She enthusiastically replied, “Strawberry cupcakes!” I had never made them before, so…. Challenge accepted!!
These turned out so well that our guests came back for seconds. (To quote one of them: “These are BONKERS.”). They have amazing strawberry flavor, and I’ve received requests to make them again. They’re a little time-consuming compared to other cupcakes, but worth every minute.

This recipe was cobbled together by taking the best bits from several sources (including The Preppy Kitchen, Sally’s Baking Addiction, and The NY Times)

Chris Gan @ChrissyAlpha

This recipe was cobbled together by taking the best bits from several sources (including The Preppy Kitchen, Sally’s Baking Addiction, and The NY Times)

Saved

Ingredients

~24 minutes

Makes about 27 cupcakes

9large strawberries: 5 for purée and 4 for chopping
Dry Ingredients
2and 2/3 cups (270 g) bleached cake flour
2 teaspoons (10 g)baking powder
1/4 teaspoonbaking soda
1/2 teaspoon (3 g)salt
3 Tablespoonspowdered freeze-dried strawberries (see below - you’ll take them from the frosting ingredients)
Liquid Ingredients (Bring to Room Temperature)
1/2 cup (118 ml)whole milk
1/2 cupsour cream
1large egg yolk
1 Tablespoon (15 ml)vanilla extract
For Creaming
3/4 cup (170 g)unsalted butter cut into 1/4” slices
1and 1/2 cups (314 g) white sugar
For Whipping
3large egg whites, at room temperature
Frosting Ingredients
1and 1/2 cups freeze-dried strawberries (~35 g) Crush them into powder, then use 3 Tablespoons for the cupcake batter
1 cup (226 g)unsalted butter cut into 1/4” slices
4 cups (440 g)powdered sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml)vanilla extract
A fewteaspoons of milk or heavy cream as needed to adjust the frosting’s consistency

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Steps

~24 minutes

1

Prepare the ingredients for the batter:
🍓. Allow the butter, milk, sour cream, and eggs to come to room temperature.
🍓. The optimal temp for the butter is ~ 60°F (cooler than room temperature). Mixing it will get it to this temp pretty quickly, so you can work with the butter straight out of the fridge.
🍓. Separate the eggs. You’ll need 3 whites and 1 yolk. Put all the egg whites into a large bowl. Put the yolk into the bowl with the liquid ingredients.
Save the other 2 yolks for breakfast 😊
2

🍓 Preheat the oven to 350°F
🍓. Prepare the cupcake pans. Spread a thin layer of uncooked rice onto the bottom of each cupcake well. Then, put paper liners on top of the rice. Plan to make 27 cupcakes.
The rice will absorb any excess oil/fat as the cupcakes bake and will prevent burning/discoloration of the pan.
3

Weigh the cake flour for best results. To the flour, add the remaining dry ingredients: baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4

Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl: egg yolk, milk, vanilla, and sour cream. Whisk well.
5

Wash the 9 strawberries and remove the leaves. Chop 4 of them into small chunks. Finely chop the remaining 5 berries until you have a purée. You should have about 1/3 cup of purée.
6

🍓. Place the 1.5 cups of freeze-dried strawberries into a plastic bag and crush them into powder with a rolling pin. Pass the powder through a fine sieve to remove any big chunks and re-crush them if necessary.
🍓. Transfer 3 Tablespoons of the strawberry powder to a small bowl. This will go into the batter. The rest of the powdered berries will be used to make the frosting.
7

We’re finally ready to start making the batter!
I use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, but you can use a handheld mixer.
Cream the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, or until it is light and fluffy. Do not overwork the butter at this stage! Overcreaming will lead to a dense batter.
8

While the butter and sugar are creaming, whip the 3 egg whites to soft peaks.
9

To the creamed butter, add about a third of the dry ingredients and mix on the lowest speed until just incorporated.
10

Next, add half of the liquid ingredients and mix on the lowest speed until just incorporated.
11

Repeat the steps above, adding another third of the dry ingredients, mixing, adding the other half of the wet, mixing, and adding the last third of the dry.
With the last portion of dry ingredients, also add the freeze-dried strawberry powder.
12

Remove the bowl from the mixer. Add the chopped strawberries and the purée. Fold these into the batter.
13

Finally, add the egg whites and fold them in. The batter will be smooth and fairly fluffy.
(Shown in the picture is the batter after I had already transferred the first batch to the cupcake liners.)
14

Fill each of the cupcake liners a little over half full. (I had to use both my metal pans as well as my silicone pans.)
Bake them in the preheated oven for about 24 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
It’s okay for one batch to sit outside the oven at room temperature while the other bakes!
15

Let the cupcakes cool for 5 or 10 minutes or until you can remove them from the pans and allow them to continue cooling on a wire rack.
My four year old daughter and I sacrificed one cupcake to do a taste test. 😋💕. The texture is moist and fluffy and you can definitely taste the strawberries! Mission accomplished!
16

Make the frosting: Add the butter, powdered sugar, the vanilla extract, and the salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed using a paddle attachment until everything is light and creamy (approximately 5 minutes)
17

Add the powdered freeze-dried strawberries to the frosting, and cream again until fluffy.
You can add one or two drops of red food coloring if you want a more intense color. I did not, and the pink was perfect!
18

I frosted the cupcakes using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip then added sprinkles and a sliced strawberry on top when I was ready to serve them.
19

Notes:
🍓. If you don’t have cake flour, use 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup (30 g) cornstarch.
🍓. If you don’t have whole milk, you can use diluted heavy cream (3/4 cream to 1/4 water), or plain yogurt, or even 2% or skim milk. If you use a lower fat milk, the cupcakes may not be as moist.
20

Notes:
🍓. If you don’t have sour cream, you can use plain yogurt. Alternatively, you could skip using the sour cream and use one full cup of milk in the recipe. Again, if you do this, the cupcakes may not be quite as moist.
🍓. You can store the cupcakes tightly covered at room temperature for up to one day. After this, store them in the refrigerator. If refrigerated, it is best that they come to room temperature before eating.