The Lindquist Life: Recipe Club: Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

For Riley's first birthday, I wanted to make something extra special for her party. I love to bake and thought I could really put my heart into a special 1st birthday cake/cupcake for her. Then I saw this recipe on Sally's Baking Addiction and I just knew it was meant for her party. Riley's birthday is right around Valentine's Day and the recipe doesn't call for milk (we haven't tried milk with her yet) so I decided this would be the "something" I made with love for my daughter for her special 1st birthday.

Strawberry Shortcake

Cupcakes

Ingredients:

*makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcakes

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tspn baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tspn salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 egg whites
1/4 cup yogurt (Greek or regular yogurt, vanilla or plain)
3/4 cup milk (or almond milk or skim milk)
2 tspn vanilla extract

Strawberry Filling

2 cups diced strawberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbspn cornstarch mixed with 2 tspn warm water (to get rid of clumps)

**Make sure to save about 1/2 cup of strawberry filling for the frosting

Strawberry Whipped Cream Frosting

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 tbspn granulated sugar
1 1/2 tspn vanilla extract
saved strawberry filling

**I made sure to get some extra strawberries to make strawberry hearts on the top.

Directions

Make strawberry filling first.

Mixed strawberries in a saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly for about 4 minutes (or until strawberry juices have released and it becomes more of a liquid). Add sugar and cornstarch/water mixture and continue to stir for about another 2 minutes (The cornstarch mixture will really help the filling become less lumpy and it will get thicker). Remove from hear and let it sit and cool.

Make the cupcakes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with 12 cupcake holders.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set it aside. Then in a large bowl (microwave-safe), melt the butter, then add sugar. Stir in egg whites, yogurt, milk and vanilla extract until well mixed.

Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until there are no more clumps.

Pour mixture into cupcake holders evenly. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out clean. Set aside to completely cool.

**When I did this recipe, this is where I stopped for the day. I let the cupcakes and filling cool overnight in the fridge. Make sure to cover the cupcakes so they don't harden.

Next day..

Fill the cupcakes.

Cut a hole into the center of each cupcake making sure only to go about half way through the cupcake to create a pocket for the filling. Add strawberry filling to each pocket being careful not to let the filling overflow too much. There will be leftover filling for frosting.

Make strawberry whipped cream frosting.

In a large bowl, whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla extract on high speed until it thickens considerably (about 4-5 minutes). Add the remaining strawberry filling and continue to beat for another 30 seconds. Frost cupcakes.

Make strawberry hearts.

Cut the strawberry in half from the leaves at the top to the bottom. Then use your knife to cut the leaves off of each half so that it makes the top of the heart.

Here's a visual.