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Have you ever noticed that candy comes in the most GORGEOUS colors? I love to decorate with candy and my friends, both young and old, love it when I do!
Decorate? Yes, I use it to pizzazz up my table decors with an added bonus: my dinner guests get to sneak a nibble here, there and everywhere!
You might have to hunt a bit, but look for a store* or perhaps a specialty shop, that carries the tiny jelly beans and chocolate covered candies in a multitude of colors - pick out matching, contrasting or just fun colors and use them liberally on your dining and buffet tables. Sometimes I'll even put tiny colorful bowls piled high with these delightful treats at each place setting. Oh, and children, well, they'll just think you're the best thing that ever happened!
I got so excited about the candy that I almost forgot about the delightful cupcakes. These Vanilla Bean cupcakes themselves are moist, yet light and are definitely my go-to recipe when I want dessert in a hurry. If you're a frequent flyer at The Café, you might recognize them from this post or perhaps this one. They're as easy as any commercial cake mix; you throw the dry ingredients in a bowl, stir, then add everything else and mix for thirty seconds - see what I mean? Ssuper simple!
But it's the frosting that you're going to go gaga over - a buttercream dream with sweet, fresh strawberries! A beautiful sight with fabulous flavor! Unless, of course, you don't like fresh strawberries ........... But if good strawberries mean "Spring" to you, as they do to me, and the sight of a "Strawberries for Sale" sign along the roadside makes your heart leap, then be assured, you'll be thrilled with this delightful Fresh Strawberry Frosting on these delicious Vanilla Bean Cupcakes!
- 4 ouncess butter (1 stick) softened
- ½ cup fresh strawberries halved
- ¼ cup strawberry jam or preserves
- 5-6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon half and half
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Combine strawberries, jam and puree in a food processor or blender.
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Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 3 minutes or until very fluffy and pale yellow.
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Add the strawberry mixture, half and half and 4 cups of the powdered sugar. Beat again for 2 minutes. Slowly add more powdered sugar until the consistency is smooth and creamy, fairly stiff but still spreadable. For the piping, you want it a bit stiffer so that the pretty edges will set up nicely. If your icing doesn't hold up when swirled on cupcakes, it has too much liquid or has gotten too warm. Place frosting in the fridge for 20 minutes which will help it to stiffen. If it's still too thin, then add a bit more powdered sugar, beat well and try again. Like anything else, after you do this a few times, you will know the correct consistency right away.
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Frost or swirl-pipe the cupcakes or cake. I use a Wilton 1M or a Wilton 2D tip for really pretty swirling. For a great tutorial on piping cupcakes, check out this site!
Spectacular flavor and color! These Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Strawberry Icing are a tasty treat for your next special celebration - or anytime the Sweet tooth fairy strikes!
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons butter room temperature
- ½ cup buttermilk or sour cream room temperature
- 1 large eggs room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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Adjust an oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350˚ F. Line 18 muffin cups with paper or foil liners.
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Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add butter, buttermilk (or sour cream), egg, egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at a medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.
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Divide batter evenly among the cups of the prepared tins. Bake until the cupcake tops are pale gold and a toothpick or a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from tin and transfer to wire rack; cool cupcakes to room temperature before frosting.
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Foodycat says
Fresh strawberry icing sounds so good! They look lovely.
A Lovin' Forkful says
What stunning little cupcakes. These really speak to the little girl in me.
Mary says
Those cupcakes are a work of art and worthy of a magazine cover. They even sound delicious.I have no talent with a piping bag, but I'm going to try to make these really soon. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary
Anonymous says
Does your frosting ingredient have a typo perhaps regarding butter? It states 1 stick = 8 oz - should it not be 4 oz? These look amazing. Do you suppose I can scale down the recipe? Maybe a half-batch?
Gloria says
look absolutely amazing I wanna make these sooon!
Eliotseats says
I am so using this frosting recipe when it is strawberry season (which should be early this year). Alas, even though we had a mild winter, we only had three of our strawberry plants make it through the winter. Guess I will be buying flats from the FM. (Love the candy idea for decor!)
momto8 says
how beautiful! love the recipe..esp the icing!! yum!
beti says
they really are beautiful! the color is simply stunning!
Joanna Skoraczyńska says
I desperately want one of those. No I want two 😉
www.you-made-that.com says
These cupcakes look perfectly Spring-y. I love the fresh strawberry frosting and how pretty pink it turned out. Photos make me want to take a bite!
Ginny says
They look just wonderful, I can almost smell them now!!! You always make everything so beautiful!! And I love the look of the heart cookies with the M&M's scattered around them!
Susan says
These are just gorgeous! I really need to learn to pipe frosting!
Dining Alone says
If I made this I am not sure if any icing would actually make it on to the cupcakes!! 🙂 The photos all look wonderful.
Cathy at Wives with Knives says
If those beautiful cupcakes don't look like springtime I don't know what does! I love all those vibrant candy colors. Fresh strawberries in buttercream - it doesn't get much better than that. Thanks for sharing your cupcake recipe. I've been looking for a good one.
Vicki Bensinger says
These look like so much fun. I love that strawberry icing. I'll have to try that. Everything looks so whimsical.
Carol @ Always Thyme to Cook says
The cupcakes are gorgeous, love those colors! The candy really makes it so much fun!
Chatty Crone says
You need to join Pinterest so we can Pin these and the recipes. Beautiful. sandie
Martha says
oh yummy! and so pretty! I want one for breakfast!!
The Café Sucré Farine says
Thank you Lenia for such kind words, you are so sweet and you know that I enjoy your blog also. You always have something fun, unique and delicious to share!
Lenia says
You never cease to amaze me,dear Chris!Whenever I visit your blog,I am so sure that I will see immages of sheer beauty like these heavenly cupcakes!And trust me,this is no flattery!It is the truth!
With love and respect,
your Greek friend!
Kim says
Have you saved one of these for me?????? Because I'm hungry right now and I would definitly be please by one (or two) of these awesome cupcakes!
The Mom Chef says
Heavens, that looks amazing. I love fruit, but the berries have my heart. It doesn't matter what kind it is. Strawberries and their aroma remind me of spring. Ask the family, too, and they'll tell you that vanilla is my flavor of choice in ice cream. So, I'm claiming this as made for me. Ok? 🙂
GLENDA CHILDERS says
Such a pretty presentation.
Hovkonditorn says
Oh, these are so beautiful, I love the color!
Jen @ Peanut Butter and Peppers says
Just gorgeous!!!! I can't describe your delectable, tasty, mouth watering cupcakes any other way!
Candy colors are SO pretty, that's why I eat it!! 🙂 The cupcakes look beautiful and I love the strawberry frosting. I'm so happy that strawberries are coming back in season!!!