First Rendezvous... 1/3/2012

So my initial thought when this started was.. "I wanna make cupcakes, but I don't want to just make CUPCAKES."  So, naturally, I googled... "unique cupcake recipes". and BOOM there was an abundance of FABULOUS ideas!  So I start to sift through all the tempting recipes. I wanted something simple enough to start off with!  And then I saw it! Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes! 

(This was the last one of the batch... luckily I grabbed it to snap the pic before someone shoved it in their mouth!)


Recipe

Strawberry Lemonade CupcakesRecipe developed by Big-Black-Dog

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 egg yolks, at room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tsp Instant Pink Lemonade Mix (I used Crystal Lite)

4 large strawberries, carefully diced

Makes 9-10 regular sized cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 10 muffin cups with baking cups and set aside.

Cream butter, sugar and lemonade mix until fluffy. Add vanilla, soda, salt and eggs yolks. Mix in buttermilk and gradually add flour.

Clean berries and remove the stem. With a very sharp knife slice the berries and then dice into 1/4″ pieces careful to not crush the berries. If the berries are crushed and then added to the cupcakes, there will be too much moisture and your cupcakes will not bake properly.

Fill each baking cup with about a TBL of batter. Then sprinkle in each cup 5-6 pieces of fresh strawberry. Then add more batter per cup filling each to about 2/3 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until a test straw can be cleanly removed.

**This calls for 4 strawberries... but if you cut up 1 or 2 fairly large ones the right way that's all you need**

**also I didn't have and buttermilk on hand, so I subsituted!  I did 1/2 c. of 2% milk (it's what I had) and then add about 1-2 TBPS lemon juice, let it sit and thicken for about 3-5 minutes.**

Cream Cheese FrostingRecipe adapted from Sprinkle’s Cupcakes

8 ounces cold cream cheese
1 stick butter, firm but not cold
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Combine butter, salt, and cream cheese in mixer and beat on medium speed 2-3 minutes. Add sugar until just incorporated. Don’t over mix. It should be thick but not fluffy. Add vanilla.

Notes and Reviews:

These are a fantastic treat! They are not too heavy, not to sweet!  The tartness of the lemonade and the strawberries in the bottom would make this a perfect summer treat!


This recipe only makes about 10-11, needless to say.. that was not enough!  We happen to have some friends come by that night so they (along with the household folks) tried them out! Rave reviews! They loved them!  The question of the night.. When and What is the next recipe!


Ah.. I love cupcakes!