Baked with Love

This month's theme for What's Baking is Baked with Love. I saw an awesome idea for cupcakes with flaming strawberries on Sprinkle Bakes and I knew immediately I had to make these for my love: my wonderful husband. We had just tried whipped cream vodka, so I wanted to base a cupcake on its flavor. I used a strawberry cupcake recipe from Martha Stewart and topped it with a buttercream spiked with whipped cream vodka. I hulled out some strawberries and placed them atop the cupcakes and carefully filled them with whipped cream vodka. Next, we lit—well at least tried to light the booze—and nothing. We were disappointed, but as we all know things don't always go as planned—espcially with matters of the heart. We laughed and discovered the vodka wasn't the correct proof. It must be 80 proof or higher. Oh well. We put the idea on the back burner to try again. We tasted the cupcakes and were again disappointed. While the icing was delicious, the cupcake was a little bland. It didn't have enough strawberry flavor. Next time, I'll puree the strawberries and use more. So I guess you can say these cupcakes were a double fail. In the grand scheme of things, failed cupcakes is better than failed love.

Strawberry Cupcakes
Source: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
*makes about 32 cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter (room temperature)
2 and 1/4 cups sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons  vanilla extract
3 whole eggs
1 egg white
1 cup milk
2 cups finely chopped fresh strawberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line three cupcake tins with 32 cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, and salt and set aside. Add vanilla to milk and set aside.

In another bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy with an electric mixer on medium-high speed. Add eggs one at a time and beat well, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Reduce speed to low and alternately add flour mixture and milk in two additions, ending with flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix well. Fold in strawberries by hand.

Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Whipped Cream Buttercream
2 sticks butter (room temperature)
4 - 6 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whipped cream vodka
2 - 3 tablespoons milk (I used Italian whipped cream flavored creamer.)

Beat butter until smooth with a mixer on medium speed. With mixer on low speed, add powdered sugar one cup at a time and whipped cream vodka and milk (or flavored creamer) one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Beat until smooth and fluffy.