Almond Cupcakes With Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Food

ALMOND CUPCAKES WITH STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven, prep the pan and cream your butter. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Place 12 paper cupcake cases into a cupcake pan.In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar and beat on medium to high speed for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Scrape the base and sides of the bowl half way through.
• Beat in the eggs. Add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the almond extract, if using, and beat again until combined.
• Sift flour and then add in dry and wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, add the almond meal and mix together. Add half of the dry ingredients into your stand mixer bowl and beat on low until combined. Add in the milk and beat again until mixed through. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and beat until just combined and a few streaks of flour remain.
• Bake! Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake cases, filling each one to ¾ full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Leave the oven on at 180°C (350°F).
• Roast strawberries and blend.Prep. Hull and quarter the strawberries.Roast. Place them onto a half sheet baking tray. Sprinkle over the sugar and toss lightly. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the strawberries are softened, and juices have thickened and gone sticky. Toss the strawberries halfway through the cooking time.Blend. Remove from the oven and scrap strawberries and their juices into a blender or Nutri Bullet. Make sure to scrape in all the sticky bits too. Pulse until the strawberries are pureed. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate or freeze whilst making the buttercream, to cool the puree down.
• To make the buttercream, In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add your butter and beat on high speed for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add in the powdered icing sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and beat until the butter and icing sugar have combined. It may look a bit lumpy at this point. Add in 30 grams (2 tablespoons) of the strawberry puree and beat the buttercream for another 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add in 15 grams (1 tablespoon) at a time to the buttercream if it is too thick.Note: If you add too much strawberry puree, then the buttercream may look curdled. To fix this, add in 25g (1/4 cup) of icing sugar at a time and mix until the buttercream comes together again.
• Fill: Using a small sharp knife, core out the centre of each cupcake, making sure not to go all the way through to the bottom. Fill the holes with a teaspoon of strawberry puree. (This step is optional). Any remaining strawberry puree can be stored in a sealed jar and refrigerated for up to five days.Pipe: Transfer the buttercream into the piping bag fitted with your favourite piping tip. I used an open star tip for this recipe. Then pipe each cupcake with a swirl of strawberry buttercream. Gently press the chopped almonds all around the sides of the buttercream; alternatively, sprinkle over the top. Serve immediately.

ALMOND CUPCAKES WITH FRESH STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tin(s) with 12 paper or parchment liners.
• In a large bowl using hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
• Add in eggs, one at a time, followed by the applesauce. Beat until fully blended.
• Add milk and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to wet ingredients. Beat until well incorporated.
• Spread batter evenly into 12 cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes until edges are lightly golden brown and center springs back when lightly pressed. Do not over bake. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes in pan, then transfer to a cooling rack.
• In a large bowl using hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy.
• Gradually add the confectioner's sugar, one cup at a time, followed by the remaining ingredients. Mix until light and airy, about 3 minutes. Strawberry should be broken down with a few tiny bits remaining.
• Transfer to piping bag with tip (I used Wilton 2D), and frost cooled cupcakes with a swirl of buttercream.

STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES WITH STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and white, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.
• Reduce speed to low. Mix milk and vanilla in a bowl. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl. Stir chopped strawberries into batter. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.
• Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks. (Unfrosted cupcakes will keep, covered, for up to 3 days, unless otherwise noted.) Once cupcakes are cool, frost tops with strawberry buttercream. Frosted cupcakes will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days. Top with a strawberry just before serving.