Laura's Surprise Strawberry Cupcakes....two months later

One of my favorite friends had a birthday back in January and so we all gathered for a little surprise birthday at Cuba Libra on Henderson in her honor. Side note: If you ever find yourself at Cuba Libra, I recommend the Dugeness Crab BLT Tacos and Mango margarita.

I thought it would be nice to make Laura some cupcakes, so I called her up and told her I would like to bake something for her since I had to work all weekend and was going to miss her birthday. (just fyi: DID NOT ruin the surprise. Even though I am sure some people would peg me as the type to spill the beans). Laura decided she wanted Strawberry cupcakes. Seriously? I haven't had a strawberry cupcake since the 2nd grade, but I would make it work. I scoured the web for some recipes (because I didn't want to use a box).

I found one recipe that used strawberry puree, strawberry gelatin and white cake box mix. I thought I could use it as a guideline to create my own from scratch strawberry cake. But I bought a box of cake mix and some extra frozen strawberries, just in case. In the end, the whole adventure turned out wonderfully.

Strawberry batter

Pretty in Pink

Strawberry Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream

My friend loved (I'm pretty sure) the cupcakes and I was very satisfied how they turned out. I decided on a vanilla buttercream for the frosting. I think if I do strawberry cupcakes again, I might try a different frosting. The strawberry cake is so sweet I think I need an icing that will downplay the sweetness. Perhaps cream cheese?

Surprise!!

How do I get a birthday tiara?!

Make a wish

Let me admit that it has been too long since I made these cupcakes. Since I altered a recipe and I didn't write it down (iiiii-diot) I am going off my memory. I am pretty sure this will work out well...if it doesn't, ooops?

Here's the recipe:

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups sifted flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 3-ounce box strawberry gelatin
1 10-ounce package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons milk*

Procedure:
Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl
Cream butter and sugar
Mix in vanilla
Add eggs gradually
Add flour and strawberry puree alternately, beginning and ending with flour
Add milk in as needed*

*Since there was the strawberry puree, I used this as the liquid ingredient. The batter was a little thick, so I added milk a tablespoon at a time. I also needed to be careful not to overmix. So I would just be careful if you do end up making this recipe.