– Strawberries – Sugar – Cake flour – Baking powder – Butter – Sugar – Eggs – Vanilla extract – Whole milk – Cream cheese – Confectioners sugar
For the topping: Place sliced strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle sugar on top. Mix. Cover and place in the fridge until needed.
Strawberry Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners and set aside. In a medium bowl add flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk until combined. Set aside.
Add one third of the dry ingredients, mix until combined and no lumps remain. Do the same with 1/2 of the milk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat, alternating between the dry ingredients and milk and ending with the dry. Once everything is combined, add the pureed strawberries and fold into the batter until combined and no streaks remain.
Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins, filling the muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the muffin tins for 10 minutes, then remove them from the tins to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Strawberry Frosting: Add the pureed strawberries to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally until reduced to about 3 tablespoons. This will take about 10 - 14 minutes. Pour mixture into a small bowl and chill until cool, about 15-20 minutes.
Once the pureed strawberries are cool, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until creamy and blended. This will take about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and pureed strawberries and beat on medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the confectioner’s sugar and pulse until combined, increase speed to medium and beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.