Strawberry Cupcake Recipe

photo courtesy of elana's pantry

It's been a while, but I'm back! I appreciate all the lovely comments and I'm glad you're all enjoying my cupcake recipes!

I get a lot of requests for a strawberry cupcake recipe. I've never been a big fan of strawberry, but I set out to make a great cupcake, and I did! I wanted to share it with you. Strawberry cupcakes are great for any occasion. The 4th of July is just around the corner and these will make great 4th of July cupcakes. You can also use them for Valentines day, Christmas, or any other time you're in the mood for a tasty treat.

This recipe makes 2 dozen

1 1/3 cup fresh strawberries (not frozen)
3  cups flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 cup strawberry milk (regular milk is fine, too)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
4 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350

-Place strawberries in a food processor and puree them. You should have 2/3 cup puree. If you're a little short go ahead and add a few more strawberries!
-In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
-In a separate bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree.
-In another bowl cream butter with an electric mixer on high speed until the butter becomes fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue mixing. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs and the egg whites.
-Now reduce the mixer speed to low and add about half of the flour mixture. Mix until combined, and be careful not to over mix or your cupcakes won't rise. Then slowly add the milk mixture, and mix just enough until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture.
-Pour batter into prepared cupcake tins and place in the preheated oven.
-Cooking times may vary, but it should take somewhere between 20-25 minutes.

Oh, and the most important step is to enjoy your cupcakes!
These taste great with virtually any frosting you can imagine. Buttercream frosting is great for a basic cupcake, and if you want to have more fun you can use chocolate frosting, coconut frosting, boiled frosting, pink frosting, or strawberry frosting! I like to thinly slice a few strawberries and decorate the tops of the cupcakes with them.

As we approach summer, it is the perfect time to use fresh fruit in our cupcakes. For a tasty idea, try replacing the strawberries with your favorite fruit. Peaches work great, as does a mix of summer berries. If you're really up for an experiment, try strawberry banana cupcakes, try adding some chocolate chips or coconut flakes. This recipe is so easy to alter to use other fruit and you should take advantage of that.

Well, folks, that's all I have for you today. I'll be back soon with some more delicious cupcake recipes. Right now I'm working an a new take on chocolate cupcakes, so check back soon and you'll be in for a real treat!