Yield: 20-24 cupcakes
Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- Zest of 3 lemons, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
Frosting:
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 1/2-2 cups freeze dried strawberries, crushed into a coarse powder *
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- Strawberries for garnish.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Fill a cupcake tin with paper liners, set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla, zest, lemon juice and the eggs, one at a time beating in between each addition.
- Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the buttermilk. Beat on low speed until just combined, making sure not to over-mix.
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake tins- filling 3/4 of the way.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting.
For the Frosting:
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the strawberry "powder" and mix well, add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until well combined. Mix in the lemon juice and zest. Beat on high for 1-2 minutes until super fluffy.
- Spread or pipe frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Garnish with a fresh strawberry.
Notes
*This will yield about 1/2 cup of strawberry "powder"
Cake recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.