What SWEET-heart could ever resist the Strawberry Cupcake???!!!!

Sweeter-than-sweet, moist, and naturally PINK!!! Strawberry Cupcakes are a dreamers dream come true. For the girly-girl at heart, I bring you TWO Strawberry Cupcake recipes this week!

My favorite, from the kitchen of the Kitchen Goddess herself, Martha (we are on a first name basis after several blogs ranting and raving about her)

Strawberry Cupcakes
Yield 24
Preheat oven to 350

            2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

            1/2 cup flour

            1 tablespoon baking powder

            1 teaspoon salt

            8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

            2 1/4 cups sugar

            3 large cage-free eggs

            1 large egg white

            1 cup whole milk

            1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

            2 cups finely chopped strawberries, plus small strawberries for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

Reduce speed to low. Mix remaining wet ingredients (including egg white) in a bowl. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry. Add chopped strawberries to batter and stir. Scrape sides of bowl. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each full.

Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.

Perfect for a girl's afternoon, with a variety of frostings and icings to decorate!

You may also cheat. but just this once. And shhhhhh, you did not hear this from me!

This recipe is from the mini-cupcake booklet that comes with the mini-cupcake-maker Babycakes (for more on this delicious Easy Bake Oven for the modern Queen, see my previous blog for Red Velvet Cupcakes)

Strawberry Cupcakes, cheater's edition

1 Package White Cake Mix

1 egg white

1/2 Cup Frozen Strawberries, thawed

Prepare cake mix according to package directions, omitting water and substituting with thawed strawberries. Beat for 2 minutes.

* a wee hint - if you thaw frozen strawberries with a tablespoon of sugar sprinkled over them, you get more JUICE!!!!!

Strawberry Frosting

1/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature

1/4 cup frozen strawberries, thawed in much syrup!

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

( I had to double the frosting recipe to frost all 24 cupcakes!)

Garnish each with strawberry half

- if you would like to go all out and be the Goddess of your own kitchen, I found these darling cupcake liners at Michael's! Too sweet!!!!!!