The tender cake of these petite pink cupcakes gets its color and flavor from strawberry jam, while dried lavender adds lovely floral notes. A scrumptious Strawberry–White Chocolate Buttercream and fresh strawberry garnish complete the sweet package. Pictured with our Almond Meringue Drops and Lemon Chess Tartlets.
Miniature Strawberry Cupcakes
Serves: 24
Ingredients
- 1 1⁄4 cups cake flour
- 3⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons strawberry preserves
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried culinary lavender
- 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Red food coloring paste (optional)
- 1⁄4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- Strawberry–White Chocolate Buttercream (recipe follows)
- Garnish: small fresh strawberry halves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 24-well mini muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar with a mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in preserves and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl. Beat in lavender, vanilla extract, and enough food coloring, if using, to achieve a pleasant pink hue. With mixer at lowest speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Divide batter evenly among wells of prepared muffin pan.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 12 to 18 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Gently remove cupcakes from pan.
- Place Strawberry–White Chocolate Buttercream in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (Wilton #1M). Pipe buttercream onto each cupcake.
- Garnish each cupcake with a strawberry half, if desired.
Strawberry–White Chocolate Buttercream
Serves: 3 cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1⁄4 cup strawberry preserves
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
- 1⁄2 teaspoon strawberry extract
- 1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 (4-ounce) bar white baking chocolate, melted
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar, strawberry preserves, milk, strawberry extract, and salt with a mixer at medium speed until creamy. Beat in melted chocolate. Use immediately.
