Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Last weekend when Matt took these brownies with him to a friend’s birthday, I was en route with these Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes (and wine of course) for a good friend’s housewarming.  One of my best friends from growing up recently moved to NYC with her husband so I was thrilled to be welcoming her to the city.

I was also thrilled with how these cupcakes turned out.  I’ve been trying different yellow cupcake recipes for months and this was the first one that was perfectly light, fluffy and had a nice dome to it.  Plus, they were easy to make which is always a plus.

Of course I wanted to add a special touch to the cupcake so I went with a strawberry buttercream to top them off.  My high-cake-to-frosting loving husband couldn’t get enough of it.  He just might have eaten the three cupcakes that day… The strawberry flavor shines through nicely without overpowering the cupcake as a whole.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes

Yellow Cupcakes:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk at room temperature (I used skim)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners or grease the cups with butter or non-stick cooking spray; set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla on high speed for about 3 minutes or until mixture is well combined and thick
Add butter and oil and beat on high until well combined; scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix for another minute
Reduce the speed to low and add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and then 1/2 milk; add another 1/3 of dry ingredients and remaining milk; add remaining dry ingredients and remove from mixer immediately
Use a spatula to incorporate any dry ingredients that have are not fully combined; distribute batter evenly among cupcake cups with a ladle or ice cream scoop
Bake in center of oven for 13-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
Allow cupcakes to cool for several minutes and then remove from tin and place on cooling rack; set aside and prepare buttercream

Strawberry Buttercream:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup strawberry jelly
1 cup powdered sugar

Beat butter in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment on high speed for several minutes until butter is light and creamy
Add jelly and beat on high speed for one minute; scrape the sides of the bowl and beat for an additional minute
Add powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined; increase speed of mixer to high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy
Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes as desired

Yellow Cupcakes from Food and Wine