It's Wimbledon season, the time of year when I swoon over Roger Federer and eat lots of strawberries. Sometimes swooning over Roger Federer whilst eating strawberries.
This year I have been swooning over Roger Federer (can you tell I like Roger Federer?) whilst eating strawberry cupcakes. Soft, fluffy, vanilla flecked cupcakes with juicy chunks of strawberries and topped with strawberry jam butter icing. These are seriously addictive. I could easily eat 3 in quick succession.
Jam mixed into butter icing is definitely my new favourite thing. I've tried raspberry and strawberry jams mixed into icing so I'm plotting which jam variation to try next. Any suggestions?
These strawberry printed cupcake cases have been sitting in my baking stash for at least two years, waiting for the right opportunity to be used. Aren't they cute? I've always felt that I couldn't just use them for any old cupcakes, they *had* to be strawberry flavoured. I'm surprised it has taken me this long to make strawberry cupcakes again (last baked here - god that was ages ago!)
I made these cupcakes to take on a summery picnic with my friends last week. The weather looked set to be glorious, so glorious that I ventured outside in bare legs(!) and sandals(!!) However by the time we arrived at our picnic destination the sky clouded over slightly and it became increasingly windy. It was strange weather: hot enough to promptly melt my friend's ice-cream and so windy that the melted ice-cream blew *everywhere* In hair, on arms, on tops, on trousers, on my legs! It was an eventful day out.
Strawberry cupcakes
cupcakes:
200g margarine/ softened butter
200g golden caster sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
200g self raising flour
100g strawberries, chopped into relatively small chunks
icing:
250g icing sugar
125g softened butter
1-2tbsp strawberry jam (add to taste)
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and line two cupcake trays with cases. In a large bowl beat together the margarine and sugar for about 5 minutes until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add a tablespoon of the flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture from splitting. Add the flour and mix everything together until fully combined. Stir in the strawberry chunks until evenly distributed.
Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, until 2/3 full. I got 18 cupcakes from this mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until well risen, light golden and spring back when touched. Leave to cool in the tray for a couple of minutes before turning out to cool on a wire rack.
For the icing, beat together the icing sugar and butter for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Stir in the jam and mix for another few minutes. Spread the icing on top of the cupcakes with a palette knife. I'd recommend increasing the amounts (by about half perhaps?) if you'd prefer to pipe the icing on as this only gave a relatively thin covering per cupcake.