Baking Like Betty - Strawberry Cupcakes

I always equate long weekends with food. The fatties that we are, we take any chance to fill the fridge with homemade treats. We stick to a simple diet most days, but when a long weekend rolls around, all I want to do is eat and bake and bask in the joy of spending time with my perfect little family. This Memorial Day weekend was hot…H O T. In 30 years, I can count on one hand the number of times there was nice weather for an entire Memorial Day weekend, and even fewer when it didn’t rain on the actual holiday. Although there were a couple of hours of rain this weekend, the majority of it was spent in sun and 80+ temperatures. While this was a pleasant change from the norm, it meant that my tiny little apartment, which has no air conditioning, heated up rather quickly…even more so while buzzing around the kitchen trying to make all the food I wanted to eat.

Sunday was 90+ and sticky. Too hot to go outside, too hot to stay inside. Too hot for little toddlers to take a nap. The house was full of cranky people. I was probably the worst of all. The Mister threatened to buy an air conditioner right then and there.

We decided to give the weather a chance to settle down before we ice the whole place. And I did manage to make some cupcakes with buttercream, using fresh strawberries in both. These goodies needed to head straight for the fridge in an effort to maintain any amount of integrity in the frosting. The Mister was able to snap a few photos before everything started to melt. And once chilled, these were a huge success! Their wonderful flavor was able to keep my crankiness at bay at least for a few moments. fresh strawberries

For the Cupcakes

I based my recipe on the one found at The Kitchen McCabe

  • 1 1⁄2 cup Flour
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 3⁄4 Tbsp Baking Powder
  • 3⁄8 tsp Salt
  • 3⁄8 cup Vegetable Oil
  • 3⁄4 cup Strawberry Puree
  • 1⁄2 tsp Vanilla
  • 1⁄2 tsp Lemon Juice
  • 2 Eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 325. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the vegetable oil, strawberry puree, vanilla, and lemon juice to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined. Add the eggs to the batter and whisk until smooth. Bake for 15-20 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. Experience tells me that 90 degree days are not ideal for buttercream…But who listens to that guy anyway?!?

For the Buttercream

The recipe for this part I found at The Baker Upstairs

  • 2 sticks butter, softened
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 1⁄2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (I never sift the powdered sugar…but you really should!)
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1⁄2 + cup strawberries, pureed to make about 4 tablespoons puree

Add butter to your stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes). Add the salt and powdered sugar, until combined. Add the vanilla and strawberry puree and beat until light and fluffy. You can adjust texture by adding milk or cream to thin it or powdered sugar to thicken.

Once the frosting is ready and the cupcakes have cooled. Put them together and voila!

Strawberry Cupcakes