Strawberry Cupcakes

You know the old adage, if at first you don't succeed, try again? Well follow that, and you might just be glad that you did! I found this recipe on Annie's Eats blog. I wanted to take advantage of the fact that strawberries are in season, and the cupcakes look so darn good on Annie's blog. So I made them and they smelled great while baking, but it wasn't until after I got them out of the oven that I realized I didn't add enough flour! (I had been distracted when I was measuring it out.) Don't you just hate when that happens? What a waste of time and ingredients!

At first I wasn't sure I should, but then I decided to try making them again. Boy, am I glad I did! I followed the recipe for the frosting, but decided I wanted more of a traditional white icing. I mixed it together, adding the vanilla extract as is called for, maybe a little less because as I was adding it, I remembered I had some strawberry extract. So I added some of that too, and also added a drop or two of red food coloring. The result was delicious! Original source of the recipe for the cupcakes and frosting can be found here.
 
Printable Recipe

I got 24 cupcakes out of this.

For the cupcakes
2  1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1  1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chopped strawberries

For the frosting
1/2 cup chopped strawberries
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1  1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
 
Sift flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl and set aside.  With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time until combined.  Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla and beat until combined.  Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Fold in chopped strawberries.  Fill cupcake wells 3/4 full with batter.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the frosting, puree strawberries in food processor.  Strain through a mesh sieve to remove seeds, and set aside.  Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  Add lemon juice, vanilla and strawberry puree. (You will have to push this through your sieve, if it is too fine.) Frost the cupcakes.

As I said, I wanted a different frosting, so I just made a white icing and added strawberry extract along with a drop or two of red food coloring. I didn't follow a recipe - I just threw it all together. I'll give the approximations of what I used, but I'm sure either you have your own recipe, or you can find one online. You could certainly do without the vanilla extract if you wish and just use the strawberry extract, but even with it, the flavors worked well together.

Vanilla Powdered Sugar Icing
1/4 cup butter, melted
2-3 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk, or more as needed
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 - 1 tsp strawberry extract

Beat together the butter and sugar. Add the milk and extract, beat until smooth. Add additional milk, if needed.

And if you happen to have any leftover frosting, make these: (Brings back memories of when I was little, my mother would do this.)