Thursday, April 7, 2011

Strawberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

Posted by Erin Wilburn / 21 comments » / cake, dessert

These delightful little cupcakes were made for the baby shower of my future cousin-in-law.  The Fiance’s cousin & her husband were expecting their first bundle of joy together. (Baby Aliyah made her arrival a bit early this week, and is spending some time in the NICU. Please keep the family in your thoughts!)  I offered to make the cupcakes for her baby shower, and when I threw out some flavor options/ideas, she told me Strawberry & White Chocolate sounded good.  And seeing as they’re having a little girl, it fit the color theme as well!  Baby Aliyah is already loved, as she sure did rack up on gifts!  I commented that I think I saw every color combination that included pink known to man.  Pink + purple, pink + green, pink + gray, pink + brown, pink + black, pink + blue, pink + orange!

At first I was disappointed that these cupcakes weren’t bright pink in color themselves.  But after tasting one of the minis I baked (for taste-testing purposes!), I decided their flavor more than made up for that.  And besides, there was plenty of pink decoration at the shower to make up for their lack of bright color!  One thing is for sure with these cupcakes, they won’t be mistaken for a muffin any time soon.  Even without the frosting, you can taste the sweetness.  I’m really glad she chose white chocolate, as I got to pair a frosting I already love, with a cake flavor totally unlike the dark chocolate cake I’d paired it with in the past!  These cupcakes were sweet and moist, and the frosting was a delicious topping for them.  I got a lot of compliments on them at the shower.  Topped with some festive sprinkles, they are definitely party-appropriate!

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Strawberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

Yield: 34 cupcakes

Ingredients:

CAKE:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs plus 1 large egg white
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups finely chopped strawberries, plus small strawberries for garnish

FROSTING:
10 oz white chocolate
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
approx 4 cups powdered sugar
approx 1/4 cup milk (based on desired consistency)

Directions:

CAKE:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line standard muffin tins with paper lines.

Sift together the flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Put butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Cream on medium-high until pale and fluffy. Add the whole eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Change the speed to low, add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk. Beat until well combined. Fold in the chopped strawberries by hand.

Fill each paper liner with batter 3/4 full. Bake, rotating the pans half way through, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 20 - 30 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool for 15 minutes, then turn cupcakes out onto rack to let cool completely.

FROSTING:
Melt white chocolate over double boiler (or in microwave), stirring often. Do not overcook! Once melted removed from heat and let cool slightly. Meanwhile cream butter. Add chocolate to butter. Continue to mix at low to medium speed while adding vanilla. Gradually add in milk and sugar until frosting reaches desired consistency.

Cupcakes from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook

Frosting, as seen previously on ErinsFoodFiles