Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

If I were going to do these again, I probably would involve more strawberries, mounding them on top or something. However, since I plan to serve these at a birthday gathering to a lot of, frankly, messy people, I don't think that'd work too well. Then I thought about calling them "Sort of Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes" and then I thought, you know, why do I care anyway what these are called, or how close they are to strawberry shortcake proper?

These are light and delicate and they really don't care what their name is. I doubt you'll be in the company of this cupcake long enough to name it anyhow. You're just going to eat it. Which is as it should be.

What we have here is a crisp, light, shortbread crust, topped by a super-moist, buttery cake. The filling is a homemade strawberry jam, although you can totally cheat and buy that part. The frosting is an airy whipped cream made just a teeny bit more complex with cream cheese and then the whole shebang is topped with a ripe strawberry. Cool, summery, and perfect for a birthday.

Yassum, I like my Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes. And I'm not saying sorry, either.

'Course, I was also a HUGE fan of this doll that "blows strawberry kisses" (remember, Mama???), so admittedly, my taste is suspect.

Seriously. I loved this doll. 

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

~ Shortbread Crust ~
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chilled butter

Preheat oven to 350F.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt. Pulse a few times to blend.
Cut butter into large chunks and add to food processor. Blend for about 1 minute, until dough has a very sandy appearance and starts to clump together.

Line two standard 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners. Press about 2 tablespoons' worth of the shortbread mixture into each muffin cup, pressing down with your (clean!) fingers to form a solid layer.

Bake the shortbread-lined tins in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until the cookie is just starting to turn golden. Set aside to cool while making your cupcake batter.

~ For cupcakes ~

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2s teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until well-combined and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the salt, baking soda, baking powder and vanilla and mix well. Add in half the buttermilk, half the flour, and then the rest of the milk and lastly the rest of the flour, beating after each addition until just combined (and scraping down the sides of the bowl).


Fill each shortbread-lined cupcake tin with the batter to about 3/4 full. Bake for 15 - 17 minutes or until an inserted tester comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes or so in the muffin tin, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before filling with the strawberry jam.


~ Strawberry Jam ~
(lifted from chocolate moosey - I had to make a double batch to fill twenty-four cupcakes, with a little leftover for toast. You can also use a good-quality strawberry jam and just skip this step, but why would I ever want to make things less complicated for myself? If you have a toddler hanging onto your legs as you make the jam, so much the better.)

Ingredients

• 2 cups strawberries, sliced
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:

Place berries, sugar, and lemon juice into a somewhat-deep skillet. Heat and stir until it reaches a rolling boil. Keep stirring until it thickens, usually 10 minutes. (From Rachel: It will be ready when it slides off the spoon in a sheet rather than runny drops. Look it up on a site that is more jam-proficient than mine!) Just make sure you don’t overcook it, even if you have to test every minute or two. Turn off the heat. Let the jam cool completely before using it to fill the cupcakes.

After cupcakes have cooled, cut a cone-shaped piece out of the middle of each one, trimming the bottom of the cut bit so it forms a lid. Using teaspoon, scoop in a bit of the strawberry jam into the cupcake's cavity and then top with the lid. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

~ Cream Cheese - Whipped Cream frosting ~

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 cups heavy cream, chilled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Halved ripe strawberries, for garnish

Whip cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium speed until light, about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup cream and beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Add in vanilla, salt, and remaining cream and beat until peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes.

Using a large star tip, swoop on the frosting and top each cupcake with a strawberry half. Store in the refrigerator, and serve as soon as you can after frosting (the sugar and the cream cheese stabilizes the cream a bit, but you still don't want to keep them too long).

Really, do you think this needs anything else?