strawberry cupcakes: sweet somethings

So a really good friend of mine asked me to help him bake cupcakes this weekend to bring to his class and impress everyone, so that’s exactly what I did! This recipe is quite different from regular cupcakes as it requires you to prepare beaten egg whites to fold into the batter, rather than just adding whole eggs to the batter. It gave a nice, white and fluffy texture though I’m not sure if the extra effort is really worth it. Regardless, these cupcakes are moist and the frosting is finger-lickin’ good! Perfect for spring time!

This post was featured in the Top 6 at Cupcake Apothecary blog.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook and Annie’s Eats (frosting)

Yields 24 cupcakes

Ingredients for the cupcakes

3 sticks (1 ½ cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 ¼ cups sugar
8 large egg whites (I bought a container of pasteurized liquid whites)
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
½ tsp vanilla extract

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350^oF and line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners or grease them thoroughly. Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. (I usually don’t sift my flour because I’m too lazy but it’s important to sift cake flour because it’s a lot lumpier).

Beat the butter in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until softened and then add 2 cups of sugar (save the other ¼ cup) until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla. Stop the mixer and add about a third of the flour mixture, mix it into the batter a little with a rubber spatula so the flour doesn’t go all over the place when you start it again and alternate with the milk and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined after each addition. Transfer the batter to a large bowl and set aside.

In the clean and grease-free bowl of the electric mixer, beat the egg whites with a whisk on low-medium speed until they are white and foamy. With the mixer on low speed, add the ¼ cup of sugar in a slow stream and beat on high until you get glossy stiff peaks. But be careful not to over-mix otherwise the whites will become dry and lumpy. Now gently fold in 1/3 of the egg-white mixture into the batter with a rubber spatula just until combined using a cutting and folding-over technique. Slowly add the remaining egg whites.

Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 of the way. (I found that I had a bit left over so I decided to make a couple of mini cupcakes too!) Bake for 20-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. The original recipe said to bake until they are golden brown but I found that they stayed kind of white even after 25 minutes, but since my toothpick came out clean I decided to take them out before they over-baked. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool about 15 minutes.

Ingredients for the frosting

½ cup strawberry puree (about 5 medium strawberries)
8 oz. (250g) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 ½ sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar, sifted
½ tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla

Procedure

Puree the strawberries in a food processor or blender and strain through a mesh sieve into a bowl. You’re going to have to use a rubber spatula to mix the puree and push down otherwise the liquid won’t go through since it’s so thick. Keep going until there are only seeds left (have patience!). Cream the butter and cream cheese in an electric mixer with the paddle until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, then the lemon juice, vanilla and strawberry puree. If you find that you want more strawberries, just make some more puree and add it to the frosting.

Decorate the cupcake with the frosting (I like to use a star tip with my piping bag) and garnish with fresh strawberries. Delish!

cute!