Hey Everyone!! Today we’re sharing a recipe to help bring a bit of Spring into your home, Strawberry and Cream Cupcakes.
Easter is only one week away after all, and since it’s early this year, we are unfortunately still at the mercy of Winter. Well, technically Spring is already here (but not really when you live on the East Coast). At least the weather next week is calling for warmer temperatures! Deep breath – Spring is coming. And with warm weather comes berries…eventually. Obviously berries aren’t in season here in NL, but nothing is at this point. Sooo, off to the grocery store we go, and you can be sure there are strawberries there.
These cupcakes are delicious, but what really shines is the icing. It’s a lightened cream cheese icing, with just the right amount of sweetness. I don’t mean lightened as in better for you, because what cupcake is good for you? I mean lightened as in not too heavy. Most cream cheese icings do not sit well with me or Katherine, mostly because they are just too rich or sweet. But here, we’ve folded some whipping cream into the mixture to give it an airy texture that just melts in your mouth, but also stays pretty well-formed when piped!
The cupcakes themselves have a bit of 18% coffee cream and pureed strawberries in the batter to keep them nice and moist. We also threw in some chopped strawberries to give it more of a strawberry flavour. If you don’t like cooked berries (Josh doesn’t, he finds they get too mushy), then leave the chopped ones out of the cupcakes and try topping the icing with some chopped fresh berries, or maybe even stirring them directly into the icing. I haven’t tried this though, so that would be at your own risk.
The batter for the cupcakes is quite thick. It’s somewhat similar to a muffin batter, but with the taste of a cupcake. We think they’re a sort of cupcake/muffin hybrid. No matter what you want to call them, they’re tasty. Oh, and we topped them with mini eggs because it felt right. Enjoy!
Strawberry and Cream Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Cupcakes
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup coffee cream 18% m.f.
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries chopped
For the Cream Cheese Icing
- 1 cup whipping cream 35% m.f.
- 1/2 cup cream cheese softened
- 1 cup icing sugar
Instructions
Strawberry cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350F and add cupcake liners to your muffin pan. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend 3/4 cup strawberries with the coffee cream in a food processor and set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating until fully incorporated after each addition.
- Reduce the speed of the mixer to low, and add the flour mixture in batches, alternating with the blended cream/strawberry mixture, and mix until just combined. Fold in remaining strawberries.
- Divide mixture between cupcake liners and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely.
Cream cheese icing
- In a bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form, then chill in fridge for 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese and icing sugar together until well combined. Once whipping cream has had time to chill, use a spatula to carefully fold the cream into the cream cheese. Allow to chill 10-15 minutes more before frosting cooled cupcakes.
The recipe is credited to Nicole and Katherine – The former owner of SaltwaterDaughter.com.
