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Friday, April 3, 2009

Buttermilk Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Frosting

Riddle me this.
What is the big freaking deal with cupcakes right now?

There are blogs dedicated to them. Bakeries that bake nothing but. And even art starring them. I get the part that cupcakes are cute and the possibilities are endless. But the hype is HUGE! Will the cupcake rage ever calm? What will be the next big whammy? Cakespy, any input?

I don't decorate cakes nor cupcakes. I don't do gum paste or fondant. It all stresses my inartistic self out. I do cupcakes that are straight up and to the point. If I could decorate them amazingly, then I would. I would rather do them plain than have them look like hell. I have this brother and sister in law that decorate cakes and their work makes me look like a peasant. Click here for their blog.

For me, cupcake with frosting smeared thoughtlessly atop. If I do them this way, then I don't feel bad eating them.



For the cupcakes:
¾ cup butter
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1½ tsp vanilla

Set oven to 350°. Line two 12 well muffin tins with liners and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer for 5 minutes at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Scrape the bowl and beat well to incorporate.

Sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add a quarter of the flour mixture to the butter-egg mixture, then add vanilla and a third of the buttermilk. Repeat, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and scraping well after each addition.

Divide the batter between the muffin tins, filling halfway full. Do not overfill the tins. You will have a little batter leftover. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Remove cupcakes from tin and cool completely. Top with fresh strawberry frosting.

For the frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
32 oz powdered sugar
1 cup finely diced strawberries

In a large bowl, combine butter and powdered sugar. With a hand mixer on medium speed, mix the butter and powdered sugar until the butter resembles coarse crumbs. Add the strawberries and mix on low for about 2 minutes, or until the frosting is smooth.

Rookie's Notes: It takes a minute for the hand mixer to break down the strawberries and become smooth. Have faith and give it some time.

Keeping it real.
Hey, at least I am not Paula Deen.

I could be eating this cupcake AND talking with my mouth full.

14 comments:

Amanda said...

Those look so good!! I could really go for a couple cupcakes right now. I'm not usually a cake person, but lately I'm loving it.

Kalli Ko said...

if you WERE Paula Deen you'd be saying

"mmmmm ya'll! these cupcakes are sooooo delicious!" with crumbs flying everywhere.

bless her

Erin said...

and if you were Paula Deen those cupcakes would be loaded with mayo.

Anne said...

These look heavenly. I might just make them someday!!

Vanessa and Company said...

LOL about Paula Deen...bless her heart, sigh. I can't help but get totally grossed out whenever I see her cook anything....all that finger licking, yikes.

The cupcakes look delish, though. Especially the frosting. I love strawberries.

Mandee said...

I want to lick my computer screen... and those vanilla bean cupcakes- dying over those, too.

Jill said...

The cupcakes were delicious. We made them Friday and they are already gone. Yum.
And, they were so much better than anything Paula Deen has EVER made.

Anonymous said...

Wow, those cupcakes look great! Fresh strawberry frosting has my mouth watering right now.

A said...

you probably already know this since you are a sweet and savory sensai, but i'll share anyhow. . . fresh raspberry icing is the bomb.com!

do as you say, make your fabulous buttercream frosting and add some frozen raspberries that have been thawed to room temperature and pureed in the blender. sheesh! that was one rather long run-on sentence. any how, make sure the butter cream frosting is rather stiff as the raspberries tend to give it a little more "juice."

eat up, enjoy and be sure to lick the beaters as there is nothing better IMHO--it's awfully good on homemade chocolate cake too, but i'll stop there since i'm starting to drool.

Taryn said...

Thanks Rookie! I just finished making these for FHE tonight and I am excited to eat them. I also made the frosting and I was excited to use the leftover strawberries from breakfast yesterday.

Vanessa and Company said...

I just wanted to comment that I also made these over the weekend for my nieces 2nd b-day, and they were the bomb, seriously, so good.
That frosting though, is killer.
Thanks for a great recipe!

Sarah21063 said...

I loved this recipe - it looked perfect because I had both buttermilk and strawberries that needed to be used up. I will say, however, that the frosting recipe made wayyyy too much frosting. The recipe could easily be halved and there'd still be plenty. But the cupcakes were still delicious - moist and fruity!

Unknown said...

I was wondering if this would work for a cake. I was looking for a white cake recipe for a round layered cake. I was also thinking of putting homemade raspberry jam in the middle and chocolate gnache for the frosting with sweetened mixed berries & whipped cream as toppers. What do you think??? Too ambitious? I've never made a homemade cake before and would love any advice or tips you might give. Thanks!

h4 said...

Hi sis, what flour you use in this cupcake recipe? all purpose or cake flour?