Ponchatoula Strawberry Cupcakes

Pinker than pink!!!!!!!! Ponchatoula Strawberry Cupcakes

This summer I am drawn to the idea of evenings on our porch, watching fireflies, sipping pink lemonade, and nibbling on delicious sweets made from fresh fruit grown here in Georgia. Last month's Peach Cobbler Cupcakes....this month's Ponchatoula Strawberry Cupcakes, Southern courtesy of Martha Hall Foose's Screen Doors and Sweet Tea.

• These cupcakes were sooooooo yummy and soooooo verrrrrrry pink!!!! My absolute most favorite part of this recipe was not, in fact, licking the sweet creamy batter, nor was it gobbling up the completed cupcakes - it was the way the incredibly delicious scent of strawberries permeated my entire house while I was baking and for an entire day afterward! I kept squealing, "I smell sugar!!!" - in a manner befitting a Southern Belle, of course :-)

Ponchatoula Strawberry Cupcakes

Yield 24

Bake 350* for 18-20 minutes

Cupcakes:

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.


  
In another medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, and almond and vanilla extracts; set aside.


  In an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add the buttermilk mixture. Beat for 1 minute at medium speed.


  


Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Stir in the strawberries and the orange zest. Spoon into the prepared muffin tins, filling them two-thirds full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or when cupcakes spring back when touched lightly in the center. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then unmold the cupcakes and cool on racks.


• Frosting:
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh or frozen strawberries
• 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Make the frosting. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the strawberries, jam, and lemon juice. Cook and stir for 5 minutes, or until the jam is melted and the strawberries are soft. Press any big pieces with the back of a spoon to mash.



In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and butter at medium speed until creamy. At low speed, slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until combined. Add the strawberries and mix at low speed until blended.






When the cupcakes are completely cool, spread with the frosting.

I thought it best to keep chilled in the fridge until served.  They were incredible paired with pink lemonade and raspberry sherbet!!!! (If you like pink, that is ;-)

I featured the Ponchatoula Strawberry Cupcakes at a Sunday afternoon tea party, and they were quite the hit!