Strawberries & Cream Cupcakes

I was at a birthday party this summer where some talented gal made Peaches and Cream Cupcakes…they were to die for! Of course, living in the Okanagan I will take any chance I can get to use fruit in a recipe.  It was my inspiration for making these cupcakes.

There’s something special about a cupcake versus a cake, right?!  But the one thing that makes me cringe at the thought of making cupcakes or muffins is cleaning the tin after I’m done. I suppose it’s because I’ve baked using muffin tins that were handed down to me from my grandma and mom for so many years, I just had no clue that not all muffin tins made you want to rip your hair out after using them!

I partnered with Paderno this week to test drive their professional bakeware line for a 3 post series (check out the one before for Apple Zucchini Bread and this Pumpkin Pecan Granola) and am IN LOVE!  The muffin tins that I used in this recipe were nothing short of amazing.  They are made from commercial-grade, heavy-gauge aluminized steel with a PFOA/PTFE-free non-stick interior which is why they clean up in a breeze!  I used them a number of times, and on one of my Instagram stories someone asked me how I keep them so clean?  I can’t take an ounce of credit for it, they really do just wipe down and stay looking new!

Back to these cupcakes, if you’re looking for a fancy treat (and these ARE a treat) to serve at your next girl’s night or birthday party, these will do the trick!  I know that a lot of people reach for cake mixes out of a box, but it’s really not difficult to make your own, and it allows you to completely control everything that goes into them!  They aren’t complicated to make and are SO showy. The recipe calls for fresh or frozen strawberries, which are pureed right into the batter, meaning that you can make these beauties all-year round!  They are absolutely a treat.

Strawberries & Cream Cupcakes

Makes 2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 3 c. flour
• 1 ½ c. sugar
• 1½ Tbsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¾ c. vegetable oil
• 1 ¾ c. puréed strawberries*
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 c. heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 package whipping cream stabilizer
• 24 small fresh strawberries for decoration

* for puréed strawberries, place 2-3 cups of fresh or lightly thawed frozen strawberries in a blender and pulse until smooth

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line two Paderno Professional Muffin Tins with paper cup liners (or bake them in two batches if you only have one tin).
3. In a large bowl, sift the flour and baking powder, and whisk in the sugar and salt.
4. Add the vegetable oil, strawberry puree, vanilla, and lemon juice and zest to the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
5. Add the eggs, to the batter and whisk until just smooth (don’t overmix).
6. Spoon the batter (I like using a large ice cream scoop) into each muffin tin to 3/4 full and bake until the tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, approximately 20-25 minutes.
7. Let cool for 5 minutes and carefully remove the cupcakes from the tin, and cool completely on a wire rack.
8. In a large metal bowl using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip the heavy cream, vanilla and the 2 tablespoons of sugar to very stiff peaks.  If you are making the cake in advance, add the whipping cream stabilizer to the cream before whipping it (ie: Whip It) so that the whipping cream holds its shape.
9. Using a piping bag fitted with a large diameter tip (of your choice depending on the pattern you want to achieve), fill the piping bag with the whipping cream mixture and pipe a swirl of cream on top of each cupcake. Top each cupcake with a small strawberry (or a half a larger one) and serve.

Thank you Paderno for sponsoring this post!  Check out the other two posts in this series for more baking inspiration!

Photography by Mackenzie Jane Photo