Delicious Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Strawberry season is upon us. These Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes are a fun way to enjoy those berries. If you do not have access to fresh strawberries, strawberry preserves work great at flavoring these delicious treats.

You will need ...

For the cake:

Cake Flour, 2 1/2 Cup
Granulated Sugar, 1 1/4 Cup
Strawberry Powder*, 1/2 Cup
Baking Powder, 2 1/2 tsp
Salt, 1/2 tsp
Unsalted Butter, 1/2 Cup
2% Milk, 1/2 Cup
Vanilla Extract, 1 tsp
Strawberry Extract, 1 tsp
Strawberry Jam, 1/4 Cup
Egg Whites, 4
Egg Yolks, 2

For the filling:

Strawberry Jam

For the Buttercream:

Unsalted Butter, softened, 1 Cup
Powdered Sugar, 6-8 Cups
Heavy Cream, 1/4 Cup
Salt, 1/4 tsp
Strawberry Powder, 4 T

For the topping:

Vanilla Wafer Cookies, 2 1/2 Cups
Strawberry Powder, 1/3 Cup
Unsalted Butter, melted, 6 T

Step One

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the cupcake tins with paper liners.

Step Two

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and the sugar together until light and smooth. Add in the egg yolks, strawberry preserves, vanilla extract, and strawberry extract and mix until smooth.

Step Three

Next, add in the Baking Powder, Salt, and half of the Strawberry Powder. While mixing on low, add in half of the milk. Then repeat with the rest of the flour and the remaining milk. Reserve.

Step Four

In a separate bowl, whip up the egg whites until stiff peaks. Gently fold the whites into the cake batter.

Step Five

Portion out the batter into the cupcake liners. Bake in the 350 oven for about 30 minutes (depending on your oven) or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake comes out clean. Then remove from the oven and let cool on a rack.

While they are cooling ...

Time to make the frosting and crumb topping.

For the Frosting ...

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter for about two minutes to fluff it up. Then, gradually add in the powdered sugar one scoop at a time. Periodically, add in the salt, then the heavy cream, then the strawberry powder. Once all ingredients are in the bowl, mix it for about 3-4 minutes. The frosting will become light and fluffy and slightly larger in volume. Put frosting into piping bag fitted with a round tip (Wilton #1A is preferred). If you do not have these items, you can put the frosting into a plastic zip top bag and just snip the corner.

For the Topping ...

First, crush up the wafer cookies. Then, melt the butter in the microwave or in a saucepan on low heat. In a bowl, combine the crushed wafer cookies, the strawberry powder, and salt. Next pour in the melted butter and mix by hand until crumbles are coated. Reserve.

Assemble ...

Now we piece this all together. Gather the cupcakes, a small knife, the strawberry jam for the filling, the frosting, and the crumble topping.

Step One

First, take the cupcake and the small knife. Then cut out a small hole in the center of the cupcake about 3/4″ wide and 3/4″ deep.

Step Two

Finally fill the hole in the cupcake with the strawberry jam. Do not overflow the jam but fill it just to the top of the cupcake.

Step Three

Next, frost the cupcake. Pipe the frosting on by holding the piping bag in the center of the cupcake about 3/4″ from the top of the cupcake. It should come out and begin to spread out and look like a giant chocolate chip shape. If you do not want to do it this way, you could also just pipe a coil of frosting on the top.

Step Four

Lastly, spread the crumb topping onto a dish or a shallow bowl. Invert the frosted cupcake into the crumb topping to coat the frosting with the topping. (This is why it did not matter which way you frosted the cupcake, just as long as it’s a relatively even layer of frosting that isn’t piped high to a peak).

And that is it! Yes, it is a lot of steps and a bit of work, but these cupcakes do not disappoint. They are definitely worth the time. Enjoy!

The Mom Touch