Strawberry Cupcakes for a Grown Up Luau

I’m back!!

It has been quite a long hiatus, but I am back writing about my one true love: cupcakes.  What have I been up to?  Substitute teaching.  Which is exhausting.  You might think subbing is the easiest job in the world.   I disagree.  Honestly?  I never really wanted to be a sub.  Because I knew it would be the single hardest job in education I’ll ever have.  I am at my professional best when I *know* my students.  Their middle names (boy are THOSE fun to use), birthdays, their pets’ names, where they went on vacation last summer, their favorite color, and of course, their favorite kind of cupcake.  All of this information, and the process of gathering it, helps me figure out my students as individuals.  How to talk to them, how to teach them, how to help them stay organized, and how to help them navigate social situations.  Being a new face every day does not fit into my personal style at all.  I figured students would all hate me, either because a) they love their teacher and do not want any alternative person to teach them, or b) they enjoy torturing new people.

Thankfully, after a crazyfied day this week, I got to return to classes and students I have already met  To my surprise, they remembered me.  And the classes went easier.  I thought that they might become more rowdy if they saw me again, but in every case, students were more respectful, more cooperative, and stayed on-task better.  All of this has given me enough energy to write!  It’s nice to have a good day immediately following a bad day that left me feeling like a complete failure, questioning my skills and wondering “What am I going to do if this is my class next year?” (Answer: I have no freaking clue.  Will be searching amazon later for titles like What To Do in The Classroom When Everything Goes Wrong”.)

I have a lot to catch up on, so I’m going to begin with the strawberries.

I *FINALLY* went strawberry pickin’ in Bluemont, VA.  It was a gorgeous day to be in the fields, sunny but not humid with a cool breeze.  We picked a lot of berries.  Everyone asked me what I was planning to do with them.

It wasn’t until I got home, and realized I had about 5 pounds of strawberries that I realized I needed a plan.  So, I looked through my cookbooks, but nothing was singing to me.  I wanted a strawberry daiquiri-inspired cupcakes, but I also wanted coconut.  On a whim, I googled “strawberry pineapple coconut”. I discovered this recipe for Strawberry Colada Cupcakes,  shown below.

How were they?  First, I made a Toasted Coconut frosting, but I would not do that again.  I would do a Pineapple Cream Cheese frosting, then garnish with toasted coconut and a maraschino cherry (preferably one with a stem).  The cupcake itself could use more pineapple, hence my frosting recommendation.  Here's my recipe:

Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

1 package cream cheese (full fat...just do it), softened

1/2  stick butter, at room temperature

3-4 cups confectioner's sugar

3-4 T pineapple juice

1. Blend cream cheese & butter until smooth, about 1 minute.

2. Add 1/ cup sugar at a tine.  When frosting becomes thick, add 1/2 T of juice at a time, until desired consistency is reached.  Don't go crazy adding liquid.  It takes  a lot of sugar to correct it.

Second, I wasn't satisfied with one recipe.  So I made Strawberry Daiquiri cupcakes too.

They were phenomenal.  I would highly recommend the cakes, with the frosting possibilities endless.

This Strawberry Daiquiri cupcakes consists of a Strawberry Lime cake, infused with a Malibu Coconut Rum Syrup, topped with a Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting.  The garnish is strawberries and a line wedge on a cocktail stick, drizzled with Malibu.

I will definitely make these very grown up cupcakes again for a summer party near you!

-Adapted from Krystina Castella

Strawberry Lime Cupcakes

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1/ cup milk

1 1/2 cups strawberries, sliced

Zest of 1 lime

1 - 1 1/2 T fresh lime juice 

*Preheat oven to 350

**Slice strawberries into small pieces

*Zest lime first, lime juice will be used later

1. Cream butter and sugar using electric stand mixer.  Star on low, then gradually increase speed to medium.  Batter should look creamy in about 30 seconds-1 minute.  Add one egg, then mix.  Repeat with second egg.

2. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Mix.  Alternate adding dry ingredients to batter with milk.Mix 2 minutes.  Stop mixer, scrape bowl.  Add lime zest and lime juice Mix 30 seconds longer.

3. Fold in strawberries.

4. Scoop about 1/3 cup batter into each cupcake liner.

Bake for 21-24 minutes.  Check t 21-press cupcake.  if it springs back, they're done.

Malibu Rum Syrup

 Combine 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in saucepan.  Bring to a boil, whisking constantly.  Add one pat of butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of Malibu rum.  Cook, stirring, until mixture becomes thick, about 6-10 minutes.  Let cool.

When cupcakes have cooled, remove from pan.  Jab tops with a fork.  Using a pastry brush, brush tops of cupcakes with Malibu Rum Syrup.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package cream cheese, softened

1/ stick butter, at room temperature

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup diced strawberries

1. Blend cream cheese & butter until smooth, about 1 minute.

2. Add 1/ cup sugar at a tine.  When frosting becomes thick, add a little strawberries, until desired consistency is reached.  Don't go crazy adding berries.  It takes  a lot of sugar to correct it.

Frost cupcakes.

Garnish with skewered fruit, colored sugar, coils of lime peel, candied lime peel..endless possibilities.

In the future, could also be fun with a Rummed whipped cream, with a garnish of a strawberry and cocktail umbrella.

This cupcake is good because it delivers on the flavors.  The fresh lime gives it a delicious citrus splash.