Challenge #1: Heartbreak With A Strawberry On Top

In my last post I told you that I was reading a great book called The Icing On The Cupcake. Well, I'm finally finished reading it and it was fantastic! Pouring over each recipe at the end of each chapter was almost as much fun for me as reading the chapter.

So, to start my challange off, I decided to make the first recipe in the book;

~Heartbreak With A Strawberry On Top~

Sounds good doesn't it? It is.

I didn't manage to get as many pictures this time. I was trying to make dinner at the same time and taking pictures took a back burner as I tried not to burn everything.

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room tempurature

1 egg, room tempurature

6 oz vanilla yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tbsp potato starch (cornstarch)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp fine ground salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup diced fresh strawberries

Place baking stone in middle rack of oven. Place mixing bowl in freezer for 5 mins. Now, I'm pretty sure that this step can be skipped if a) you don't have a baking stone or b) your freezer is tiny like mine is. I did, however, go out and buy a baking stone for this. Apperently it helps activate the ingrediance quicker to give it a better flavour. I picked mine up at Kitchen Stuff Plus for about $10.

Preheat the oven to 400'. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Cream the sugar and butter together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 mins.

I thought it was strange that it all balled together, but then again, I'm not used to using a mixer for my sugar and butter. I usually stir by hand.

Add the egg and beat for 2 mins. This step deffinatly smoothed the batter out and made it look normal again.

Add yogurt and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

I would've never think to use yogurt, but it gave the batter a really nice flavour.

Whisk the flour, potato (corn) starch, baking powder, salt and baking soda together.

 

Add the flour mixture to the batter. Mix until blended.

Fold in the diced strawberries using a rubber spatula. I think that was the most fun part of the entire thing. I wish I had gotten pictures of it.

Pour the batter into paper-lined cupcake holders. Fill 3/4 of the way to the top.

Turn heat down to 350'. (The extra heat, like the baking stone, helps activate the ingrediance right away)

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean after it's placed in the middle of the cupcake.

Cool for 5 mins. Place on baking racks.

Now for the best frosting I've ever tasted!

2 tbsp butter, room tempurature

1 cup powdered sugar

2 fresh strawberries, about 2 tablespoons mashed

Cream butter, powdered sugar and mashed strawberries with an electric mixer until creamy and smooth, about 3 to 5 mins.

Chill frosting for 15 mins or until thick. (I probably should have let the icing set longer than I did.)

Frost cooled cupcakes

I know, I know, they don't look very nice, but at least the icing melted into a solid top, so they looked much nicer a few minutes later.

So far everyone who has tried them has loved them, including me! I will totally make this recipe again. I might even play round with it and use different fruits; blueberries, cherries, raspberries. Yum!