Monday, September 1, 2014

fresh strawberry cupcakes with strawberry whipped cream frosting

I was super kiasu the other day and bought 4 punnets of strawberries from the supermarket because they were on sale.

This is the typical buy-first-and-think-what-to-do-with-them-later mentality.
So I have been goggling like mad to find strawberry-related recipes. I knew I wanted to make some sort of cupcakes with the berries, and I wanted a fresh whipped cream frosting to go with the cupcakes, Now that I have a new baking kitchen, I was pretty sure that I would have a better shot at making whipped cream frosting successfully since I no longer bake in a sauna!

I was really happy when I found this recipe. It has basically everything I was looking for. Best of all, it is a one-bowl bake, and you know how we all love one-bowl bakes!
The cupcake is moist and very strawberrish (I am sure there isn't such a word but it sounds really apt so I shall use it anyway!), And I really love the cold whipped cream frosting.

This is one yummy cupcake indeed!

Here are the instructions on how to make them.

To start, I hulled and sliced the strawberries. They were placed in a food processor and using the pulse function, I pureed the strawberries. Make sure that the puree is chunky.

If you do not have a chopper, then use your knife to chop the strawberries!
This was set aside.

In a mixer, I beat together the melted butter and sugar.
Into this, I added the egg and beat until blended.
This was followed by the yogurt, milk and vanilla extract.
Finally, the strawberries were added and folded into the batter.
The batter was divided among the cupcake liners and baked.

Once baked, I allowed them to cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan before I transferred them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the whipped cream frosting, I added cream, sugar and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl that I had placed in an ice bath.
I whisked this until stiff peaks began to form.
The strawberry jam was added, and I whisked until the mixture was well combined. This should not take long. Do not over whip!
The whipped cream frosting can be made one day ahead and kept in the fridge until needed.
I piped the frosting on the cupcakes.
They were placed in the fridge as soon as possible since the frosting will melt if it is left outside for too long.
But I had to peel off the cupcake liner of one to show you how moist the cake was.

And naturally that was mine to eat.

CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP!

I love baking with strawberries. :)

If you'd like to win a set of Phillips hand blender + chopper + whisk (basically the tools I used for this recipe), I am giving away one set to celebrate my win at this year's Singapore Blog Awards for the Best Cooking Blog Category! The contest will end tonight, so do click on the icon below if you have not taken part!

A CELEBRATORY GIVEAWAY!
To celebrate winning The Best Cooking Blog at in this year's Singapore Blog Awards, I am giving away a set of Philips Jaime Oliver Stick Blender. Set includes hand blender, chopper and whisk.

"The new Philips Jamie Oliver hand blender features a strong 650W motor with a simple "on / off" button as well as a turbo button, ensuring that busy families can enjoy fresh, healthy food every night of the week. The compact chopper stands sturdy on any kitchen counter and is useful when chopping smaller quantities of onions, herbs or cheese. Homemade pesto and salsas are also really simple to make and add a completely fresh touch to your meals. It also includes a whisk that attaches easily to your hand blender top. It is useful when preparing fluffy whipped cream and homemade mayonnaise. The innovative ProMix technology represents the ultimate in speed and efficacy, to deliver only the finest and evenly cut results. The 1.0L beaker with lid keeps smoothies and batters fresh and is really useful when preparing homemade sauces, pancake batters or smoothies with your hand blender. If you don't finish the batch in one go, pop on the lid and keep it in the fridge for later. It couldn't be easier!" 

To take part in the giveaway, simply click on the icon below!

RECIPE
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Whipped Cream Frosting (Makes 12- 16)
Adapted from sallysbakingaddiction.com

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
4-5 large strawberries
1 2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (218g) plain flour (careful not to overmeasure)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (200g) caster sugar
1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1/4 cup (62g) strawberry yogurt (or Greek or regular yogurt) - I used Greek yogurt
3/4 cup (180ml) milk - I used whole milk
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract

For the strawberry whipped cream:
1 1/2 cups (360ml) heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons (43g) caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5ml) vanilla extract
1/3 cup (110g) strawberry jam

Note: I used a mixer to make the cupcakes, but you can make this manually.

Method:
For the cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176.6°C). Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. Slice strawberries and place in a food processor or blender. Pulse until strawberries are a chunky puree. You should have about 1/3 cup.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. Melt the butter. Stir in sugar - mixture will be gritty.
5. Stir in egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined.
6. Slowly mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no lumps remain.
7. Fold in the strawberry puree. Batter will be thick.
8. Divide batter among cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the strawberry whipped cream:
1. In a large bowl, whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla extract together on high speed until stiff peaks begin to form, about 4-5 full minutes.
2. Add the strawberry jam and continue to beat for another 30 seconds. Add more strawberry jam if you'd like a stronger flavor or if you'd like a pinker color. Please note the whipped cream will be thinner the more jam you add.
3. Frost the cupcakes with the strawberry whipped cream. Cover and store cupcakes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Note: Whipped cream may be made 1 day in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Serve cupcakes chilled.

16 comments:

  1. We are having a glut of strawberries at the moment so this recipe is timely. What about making some strawberry jam? :-)

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    Replies
    1. Agy I thought about it. But the amount of sugar.. it freaked me out a little!

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  2. Diana, I do that a lot too, buy first think later ha...ha...I love your strawberry cupcakes!

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  3. Hi Diana,
    Thanks for sharing the recipe! One question though...for the strawberry whipped cream, would it be ok if I were to use puree instead of jam?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Janet, unfortunately, no. Purees are too runny so your frosting will become very runny. You can use a good jam or an organic one!

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    2. Thanks Diana! Like you, I bought tons of strawberries over the weekend! This receipe came in at the right time!!!

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  4. wow, so pretty that it's a shame that i cant grab one from the screen now .LOL! gonna chk your giveaway now!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Lena! You can make also. Your skills are superb!

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  5. Hi Diana, very nice and tempting Strawberry Cupcakes with strawberry whipped cream.

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  6. Hello, I am trying to make this recipe, however, I found the measurement for flour is quite confusing. Did you mean 1 and 2/3 cup of flour? Because the equivalent of that is over 270g. 218 g equals 1 and 1/3 cups.
    I an currently using 218 g and just cross my fingers. :)

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    Replies
    1. Hello! According to this site http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/flour_volume_weight.html
      1 cup APF = 125g so 1 2/3 cups = 208.32 and 1 tablespoon = 7.81g so total is 216.13g. When I last checked it was 218 so 2g is not going to make much of a difference. Hope it helps!

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    2. I used digital measurement, adding 1 & 2/3 cups, it showed 270 g :D
      So I try using 1 & 1/3 cups, it showed 218.
      Did you use the cups or the metric measurement when trying?
      I just want to be sure.
      Thanks :)

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    3. The 218 g flour works. It is really really good. Thanks for sharing :p

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    4. I always use cups cas it is a lot faster but I provide the metric measurements to make it easier for everyone. Good to know it worked!!! PHEW! :D

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