Strawberry Rose Mini Cupcakes

Strawberry season is about done here. These are the last few days to get local, ripe, and sweet strawberries. Yesterday I got a gorgeous basket at the farmers market and I knew I wanted to make strawberry cupcakes to use them in. I love using fresh strawberries in both the cupcake batter and frosting. You really get that juicy tartness and the incredible aroma. It is a perfect way to showcase ripe seasonal strawberries.

I think that strawberry and rose go together extremely well, so I incorporated some rose extract in both the cupcake and the buttercream. If you are not a fan of floral flavors you can omit it altogether. The buttercream is so delicious that at some point I thought that it would not make it on the cupcakes. I had to put it away to prevent myself from eating it by the spoonful.

Strawberry Rose Cupcakes
(Adapted from A Southern Fairytale)
I made half a recipe, if you want to make the full recipe just double the ingredients.

• 8 medium strawberries, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup + 6 tablespoons cake flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp rose extract
• ¼ cup milk
Procedure
1. Pre-heat oven to 325°F.
2. Line two mini cupcake tins with paper liners.
3. In a small bowl, combine strawberries and 2 tablespoons sugar. Let sit while you prepare the batter.
4. Sift cake flower, salt, and baking powder into a bowl.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla extract and rose extract. Alternate dry ingredients with milk.
6. With a fork, smash the strawberries a little bit. You want to mash them up but not make them in to a paste. Strain the strawberries from the liquid. Fold ¼ cup of strawberry pulp into the batter.
7. Pipe batter into mini cupcake mold. Bake the mini cupcakes for 18 minutes. Rotate after 9 minutes to ensure even baking. Let cool for about 15 minutes. Remove from tins and cool an additional 15 minutes. Makes 32 mini cupcakes.

Note: If making regular size cupcakes, pre-heat oven to 350°F and bake cupcakes for about 20 minutes. Check them with a toothpick towards the end of cooking time.

Strawberry Rose Buttercream
(Adapted from Sophistimom)
Ingredients
• 3 large strawberries, sliced, at room temperature
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon rose extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream, if needed
Procedure
1. Place butter and 1 cup powdered sugar in a food processor. Pulse until the sugar is incorporated. Add in the vanilla extract and rose extract, and another cup of sugar. Pulse until incorporated. Add in the sliced strawberries and last cup of sugar. Pulse until incorporated. If your buttercream is too thick, add the heavy cream. Transfer frosting to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate frosting for 1 hour before using. Frost cupcakes and top with sugar pearls or sliced strawberries right before serving. Frosted cupcakes will keep for 2 days refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Note: I found this frosting to be a little bit on the sweet side. Next time I make it I will add 4 ounces cream cheese to make it creamier and less sweet.