Pretty~In~Pink Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

I have never tried Sprinkles Cupcakes although I am a huge fan of Candace Nelson, the founder of the first cupcake bakery, Sprinkles Cupcakes, and a judge on one of my FAV shows, Cupcake Wars. I bought some fresh strawberries to try a banana split cupcake, but I have not been in the mood for banana lately. I had to use these strawberries up, so I took full advantage on my day off yesterday. I found a recipe for Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcakes...I'm not sure if this is really Candace Nelson's recipe for Strawberry Cupcakes or if this cupcake just taste like hers. Either way, you're in for a real treat! I found this recipe on Oprah.com.

This cupcake is definitely for the one with the sweet tooth! The strawberry buttercream is so sweet, and a little goes a long way, but it is so good! I could eat it on anything....cupcakes, cake, fresh fruit, hamburgers...well maybe not hamburgers but you get the idea! And what a perfect Valentine's Day cupcake!!! These would also be super cute in a cupcake bouquet! So give it a try for a perfect gift to that special someone!

If you don't have a sweet tooth like I do, you could try a strawberry whipped cream icing!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp course salt
1/4 cup whole milk (I only had 2%, so I used 2% plus a touch of heavy whipping cream...hey, it worked)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg at room temperature
2 large egg whites at room temperature

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake tin

2. Puree strawberries in a food processor, you will need 1/3 cup strawberry puree

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt

4. In a small bowl, mix together milk, strawberry puree, and vanilla

5. In a large bowl, cream butter with a mixer until fluffy gradually add sugar and beat until well combined and fluffy with mixer on medium-high

6. Slowly add eggs and egg whites at medium speed with mixer

7. Slowly add half of the flour mixture, then slowly add the milk mixture, finish by slowly adding the remaining flour mixture until well Incorporated

8. Divide batter evenly into lined cupcake wells

9. Bake until cupcakes are dry to the touch, about 22-25 minutes

10. Cool completely before frosting

11. ENJOY!!!

*I added a touch of Rose Pink food coloring to my batter, because the batter looks a little gray without food coloring*

I sift the flour as directed, and realized that I had about 1/2-3/4 cup more flour after it was sifted. Then I questioned if I was supposed to sift the flour before or after measuring it. Thank God for google! Here's what I found...If the recipe calls for "flour, sifted" then you measure it prior to sifting it. If it calls for "sifted flour" then you sift it before measuring it. Good to know.

Strawberry Buttercream Icing:
1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly cold and firm
pinch of course salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sift
1/2 tsp vanilla

1.Puree strawberries

2.Beat butter and salt until fluffy
3.Reduce mixer speed and add confectioner's sugar gradually. Beat until well combined
4.Add vanilla and 3 tbsp of strawberry puree
5.Mix until just blended

*I used half of this recipe for the cupcake recipe above, 12 cupcakes*
*I also added some extra strawberry puree. It made the icing a little softer, but I liked the flavor*


Let's get to the decorations! I bought some awesome pearl sprinkles at the Wine and Cake Store
in Norfolk. They don't even look eatable! I also bought some butterfly candy molds, and made some pink butterfly candies to garnish the cupcakes. Sooo cute!


I also bought some disco glitter from the Wine and Cake Store. It is pretty expensive, but it goes a long way. They have ever color you can imagine, and it is sooo pretty! The pictures don't show the glitter, but it really adds sparkle to these cupcakes!!


The possibles are endless when decorating these cupcakes! Get creative! I used pink vanilla candy melts to cover some small strawberries to garnish some of the cupcakes. I also drizzled some white vanilla candy melts over the pink candy coating. Fancy huh?


I hope you have as much fun with these pretty little cupcakes as I did!