Ingredients
Cupcake Ingredients:- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar (if you like your cupcakes very sweet, add a little more)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups Wish Farms strawberries, coarsely chopped and hulled
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons strawberry puree
- ½ cup unsalted butter, nearly at room temperature
- ¼ cup salted butter, nearly at room temperature
- 2 ½ - 2 ¾ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 drops red food coloring (optional)
Directions
Cupcake:- Preheat oven to 375 degrees; line muffin cups with papers.
- Mix cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.
- Add flour (mixed with baking powder and salt) alternating with milk beat well; stir in vanilla.
- Divide evenly among pans and bake for 18 minutes. Let cool in pans.
- To add strawberry filling, use your pastry bag or icing set attached with the appropriate tip. (A star or narrow tip will work). Insert the tip through the top of the cupcake to a depth of about one inch. Insert one to two tablespoons of filling into the cupcake. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
- Sweep frosting across the top of the cupcake to cover the hole and top with a strawberry garnish.
- Bring all ingredients to a boil in a heavy small saucepan, stirring constantly and crushing berries slightly with back of spoon.
- Boil 2 minutes to thicken, stirring constantly (mixture will be slightly chunky).
- Pour into bowl and cool completely.
- Add ½ cup + 2 tablespoons strawberry puree to a small saucepan.
- Heat mixture over medium-low heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally until reduced by about 2/3 to 3 tablespoons, about 10 - 14 minutes (measure and if it isn't quite 3 tablespoons then return and continue to simmer, if it's not reduced to correct amount it will make frosting runny).
- Pour reduced puree into a small bowl, and then freeze until cool (stir occasionally for even chilling, it will chill quickly in the freezer since it's such a small amount).
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip unsalted and salted butter until very pale and fluffy (nearly white.
- Stop and scrape down bowl occasionally throughout entire mixing process if not using the paddle attachment that constantly scrapes bowl).
- Mix in 1 cup powdered sugar, and then blend in 3 tablespoons reduced strawberry puree, vanilla extract, and optional red food coloring.
- Add remaining 1 ½ cups powdered sugar and continue to mix until frosting is pale and fluffy, adding in an additional ¼ cup powdered sugar if needed to reach desired consistency.