Hot Cross Buns Stuffed with Chocolate and Strawberries

The chocolate cross on these hot cross buns provides just a small hint of what's inside.  Take a bite into the hot cross buns and you'll be surprised by the melted chocolate and chopped fresh strawberries you'll find in the center.  These hot cross buns are far from traditional, but they could easily become a new tradition.  

Waffled Cupcakes - A Waffleizer Duel

Once upon a time, a cupcake blogger (me) was browsing one of her favorite eye candy sites (Tastespotting or Foodgawker) and came upon a link to a blog called Waffleizer.  She quickly stopped by for a visit and learned that Waffleizer was not a blog about waffles; rather, it was a blog about taking ordinary food and putting it in a waffle maker to answer the question, "Will it waffle?"  The cupcake blogger immediately fell in love (after all, the unwritten motto for her site is "Will it cupcake?").

One day, the cupcake blogger noticed that Marisa (her former editor at Slashfood and author of the awesome Food in Jars) wrote a guest post on Waffleizer - jealousy ensued.  The cupcake blogger wanted a chance to be a part of the waffle challenge.  To get what you want, you have to ask.  So, our heroine dropped Waffleizer creator Daniel "King of Waffles" an email and asked if she could create a waffle cupcake for his blog.  Rather than allowing her post on Waffleizer, King Daniel decided to treat the request as a duel.  They would each create a waffled cupcake to share with the world - may the best cupcake win.

This blog post is a play by play of that epic duel.

The cupcake blogger and King Daniel agreed that the cupcake flavor would be strawberry.

King Daniel consulted The Flavor Bible to try to come up with a unique strawberry cupcake flavor combination.

 

The cupcake blogger just happened to be in Borders and also looked at The Flavor Bible. (Is this cheating or smart playing?  You decide.)

The cupcake blogger considered flavor after flavor. She even had dreams about strawberry cupcakes.  But, ultimately she decided on the simple American classic - the strawberry shortcake.

King Daniel wrote the cupcake blogger to say that he was struggling with the challenge. 

The cupcake blogger bravely warmed up her waffle iron and took out an unfrosted strawberry shortcake cupcake.

She greased up her waffle iron, sliced her strawberry shortcake in half, and put it on the grill.

She closed the lid, waited about 30 seconds or so, and...

Voila!! It worked! The cupcake blogger had achieved a waffled strawberry shortcake cupcake on the first try. Touche!

She put the first piece back in the wrapper and topped it with strawberries and balsamic whipped cream.  Then, she put the second piece on top and covered it with more strawberries and balsamic whipped cream, and crowned the whole thing with a waffled chocolate wafer.

Despite her clear success, the cupcake blogger still doubted whether she had gone far enough, so she kept going.  In her next rendition of the waffled cupcakes, she cut two cupcakes in half, waffled both of them, made three layers of waffle/strawberry/whipped cream and topped the creation with the fourth piece of waffled cupcake.

In this configuration, the eater is actually consuming two cupcakes in a single wrapper - pure gluttony.

Still, the cupcake blogger feared that King Daniel would call her foul - she had not waffled a whole cupcake.  She had cut it up.  So...

Head over to Waffleizer to see how King Daniel fared.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes with Balsamic Whipped Cream

As a child, I loved Strawberry Shortcake

and I loved jump roping and singing about strawberry shortcake.

 Yes, I realize that you can't really understand this girl, but it was the best strawberry shortcake jump rope video that I could find.

But, I never actually ate strawberry shortcake because I didn't like whipped cream. This was due to the fact that I never had fresh whipped cream. Fresh whipped cream = WOW! Whipped cream in the can = Eww. No thanks! Call me a whipped cream snob - I don't care!

When I made my olive oil cupcakes with balsamic whipped cream, Katy of Sugarlaws said that she used the balsamic whipped cream in a strawberry shortcake.  I filed the idea away until now!  No one could tell what the secret ingredient was in the whipped cream (especially because I used white balsamic)  - they just knew that they LOVED it!

The Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake Recipe

I adapted the strawberry shortcakes on Allrecipes to make my strawberry shortcake cupcakes, and I used the balsamic whipped cream recipe from Sugarlaws.

Yield: 12 cupcakes

• 1 lb fresh strawberries, roughly chopped
• 1/4 C sugar
• 2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 2 T sugar
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 C unsalted butter (unlike most cupcake recipes, the butter should be straight out of the refrigerator, not room temperature)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2/3 C milk
• 1 C heavy cream
• 1/4 C sugar (or more, your preference)
• 2 T balsamic vinegar (It will look prettier if you use white balsamic vinegar.)

1. Slice the strawberries and toss them with 1/2 cup of white sugar. Set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl (don't use your electric mixer, make this recipe by hand to avoid over mixing) combine the flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons white sugar, and the salt.
3. Cut in the butter and mix by hand until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Make a well in the center and add the beaten egg and milk. 
5. Stir until just combined.
6. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake wrappers.
7. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Let cool partially in pan on wire rack.
9. While the cupcakes are cooling, whip heavy whipping cream until it looks like whipped cream.
10. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar and balsamic vinegar until just combined.
11. Slice partially cooled cupcakes in half, making two layers. 
12. Place half of the strawberries on one layer and top with some whipped cream.
13. Replace the top halves of the cupcakes.
14. Top with remaining strawberries and cover with the whipped cream. 

Waffling

Next up, what happens when these strawberry shortcake cupcakes meet the waffle iron?

Strawberry Sorbet That You Can't Screw Up

Strawberry sorbet is a cool, tangy splash that refreshes and energizes you as it hits your palate. Strawberry sorbet is not quite a miracle drug, but strawberry sorbet is miraculously easy to make and (especially when served in a homemade petite waffle cone) it is sure to brighten your world.



Strawberry Sorbet Recipe

I got the strawberry sorbet recipe by modifying a plum sorbet recipe from Garret at Simply Recipes. There are tons of appetizing sorbet recipes at Simply Recipes that are worth checking out. Aside from the switch to strawberries, I also changed the recipe to be only two steps - you can't screw it up!

Made about 1/2 quart of sorbet.

• 2 1/2 C of strawberries (If at all possible, I highly recommend getting your strawberries at a farmers' market . The tiny ones that you find at farmers' markets tend to be packed with much more flavor than the huge perfect looking ones that you find at most US grocery stores. I recommend buying lots of strawberries while they are in season and freezing them; frozen strawberries work just as well as fresh ones for this recipe. Don't worry about being exact with your measurement. I just put the strawberries into a measuring cup. I pressed down a little bit, but didn't pack them.)
  
• 1/4 C + 2 T of sugar
• 1 t lemon juice
• Pinch of salt
• 1 T Grand Marnier, optional (This keeps the sorbet from getting too icy.)
  

1. Throw all of the ingredients in a blender and liquefy them.
2. Put the mixture in your ice cream maker and follow the instructions of your model.

BTW - I used the sorbet cones in 4th of July cupcakes!

Strawberry Banana Cupcakes

These strawberry banana cupcakes came to life for two reasons:

1. Strawberry banana is my favorite yogurt flavor and I wanted a cupcake that went with Greek yogurt frosting.


2. The farmers' market was flooded with amazing looking fresh strawberries!

The strawberry banana cupcakes were my kind of cupcake - moist, dense, and not overly sweet. My only disappointment with them was that they tasted too much like banana cake. While you could taste the strawberry, the flavor wasn't as prominent as I would have liked. Next time, I might cut the banana in half and add even more berries.

Strawberry Banana Cupcake Recipe


This recipe is an adaptation of my grandma's easy banana cupcakes.

Makes 18

• 1/2 C butter (1 stick)
• 1 C sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 C Greek yogurt (you could also use sour cream)
• 1 t baking soda
• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 C mashed bananas (about 2 bananas)
• 1 C macerated strawberries

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Mix in eggs, yogurt, flour, baking soda, and vanilla.
3. Stir in bananas and strawberries until combined.
4. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
5. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 F.
   

The Frosting

I topped the cupcakes with Greek yogurt frosting.

The Cupcake Liners



When I first began cupcake blogging, I used only plain white cupcake liners, but I quickly developed a sizable liner collection. I get super excited whenever I see a style I haven't seen before. My friend Christina bought me the liners shown above as a surprise gift. Despite my lot of liners, I had never seen this pattern! They are so cute and appropriately came in strawberry and banana colors! Thanks, Christina! Sorry you didn't get to eat any of the cupcakes baked in them. Luckily, I have some liners left, so you can try one next time.

Strawberry Whipped Cream Recipe

I think that I should just let the strawberry whipped cream photos speak for themselves. The strawberry whipped cream photos say, "Don't you want me, baby? Don't you want me, oh, oh, oh?" If you don't get this reference, watch the video at the end of the post. In the meantime, follow the recipe below and put some strawberry whipped cream on your pound cake cupcakes or on anything else that comes to mind.  



Strawberry Whipped Cream Recipe

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons food processed strawberries (take some fresh strawberries, wash them, remove the stems, and throw them in the food processor until they become a thick, seedy liquid)

1. Whip cream until it looks like whipped cream.
2. Mix in sugar.
3. Mix in strawberries until just combined.
4. Be sure to frost your cupcakes before you eat all of the strawberry whipped cream.

Multigrain Cupcakes with Strawberries: Revisiting the Strawberry Cupcake

About a year ago, I made strawberry cupcakes. I used an award-winning recipe and I joked that I should have left well enough alone. I messed up the recipe by adding some jam, which made it too moist. Did I follow the strawberry cupcake recipe this year? Nope!

• I converted it to a mutigrain cupcake.
• I used olive oil as my vegetable oil.
• I used milk and balsamic vinegar instead of buttermilk.
• I used ginger extract from Supreme Spice instead of vanilla extract.

It's pretty much a completely different cupcake at this point.

How Were the New Multigrain Cupcakes with Strawberries?

People enjoyed the moistness and the fresh berries as well as the earthy flavor brought on by the multigrain flour. The ginger extract flavor was more noticeable in the aftertaste than the initial bite, so it was a fun surprise. I liked them, but definitely found them to be more of a breakfast cupcake than a dessert cupcake.

Groom 2.0 said he couldn't taste the difference between the multigrain flour and the regular flour. I promised him that I would no longer place value judgements on his tasting notes, so I have no further comment about his feedback. Bride 2.0 asked to be exempted from this tasting after she told me that she didn't like strawberries. Clearly, they won't be picking this one.

The Multigrain Cupcake with Strawberries Recipe

As noted above, the multigrain cupcake with strawberries recipe was created by majorly modifying the strawberry cupcake recipe that originally came from the Good Morning America Weekend Edition's Great American Cupcake Challenge.

Makes 24 cupcakes

• 2 1/2 C multigrain flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 C butter (room temperature)
• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 t balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 C minus 1/2 t milk
• 1/2 C vegetable oil (I used olive oil. See my post on olive oil cupcakes for more on baking with olive oil.)
• 1/8 t ginger extract from Supreme Spice (You could use 1 t vanilla extract if you prefer)
• 1 C finely chopped fresh strawberries

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer.
3. Add eggs. Mix until smooth and creamy.
4. Add balsamic vinegar, milk, oil, and extract. Mix until combined.
5. Add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix until just combined.
6. Stir in strawberries.
7. Fill cupcake liners halfway full. Do not fill more than halfway! These cupcakes do not dome. If you fill them too high, they will rise and then sink and look ugly!
8. Bake at 350 F for 18-20 minutes. Let cool.

The Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

I frosted the cupcakes with my strawberry cream cheese frosting recipe.

A Note on the Strawberries in the Photo

The strawberries in the photo above are growing in our lawn. We did not plant them, they just showed up. While you may question our lawn care practices or even if those are really strawberries (I think they are, but I haven't tried one yet), it was nice of them to show up for their photo op!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Strawberry cream cheese frosting is a perfect summer frosting. It's light and refreshing. I don't like my strawberries with too much added sugar so I use fresh strawberries rather than a strawberry syrup in the frosting. Groom 1.0 said that the strawberry cream cheese frosting tasted a bit like strawberry yogurt.

Why Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting?

The strawberry cream cheese frosting was planned because I knew I was going to have lots of strawberries. I was going strawberry picking. Not only was I going strawberry picking, but I was going at 8 AM on a Saturday! I was told that this year has been a bad year for the strawberries and we had to get up early or they would be all sold out.

My friend over at Life in Webster arrived to pick me up and greeted me with the bad news. She had called on the way over and found out that at 7:30 AM, the strawberry farm already had too many strawberry pickers and they would take no more. I had no idea strawberries were in such hot demand!

Luckily for us, there were fresh strawberries to be had at the farmer's market. I could still make my strawberry cream cheese frosting.

The Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Update 6/29/11: Be sure to read through the comments before making this recipe.  You'll see that some people LOVE it and others found it to be way too "soupy".  To help make the frosting less liquidy, drain off the excess liquid after mashing your strawberries and chill the frosting a bit before trying to pipe it.

• 1/4 C butter (room temperature)
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1/2 C strawberries, mashed up in a food processor
• 3 to 4 C powdered sugar

1. Cream butter and cream cheese.
2. Mix in the strawberries.
3. Add the powdered sugar to the taste and consistency you prefer.
4. Add to your favorite cupcakes! (I used it on my multigrain cupcakes with strawberries)

Strawberry Cupcakes with Champagne Glaze: Picture Perfect Cupcakes

Strawberry cupcakes are perfect for an intimate dinner for two. The champagne glaze gives them that touch of extra romance. No intimate dinner for two to be had? These strawberry cupcakes would also be perfect for a summer BBQ.