Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Strawberries & lemons are a common flavor combination. In fact, one of my favorite summertime refreshing beverages are strawberry lemonades. When my husband asked me to make some cupcakes for a party for his boss (who achieved tenure at Harvard!), and the weather forecast was in the 80-90's, I knew this would be a perfect, refreshing treat to share.

Everyone enjoyed the cupcakes, and the wonderful party - where his boss was not only surprised by the party, but the way he was greeted was by all of his employees throwing water balloons at him! (It was his wife's idea!) Thankfully, he's a great sport, and started catching the balloons & throwing them back at people!



STRAWBERRY LEMONADE CUPAKES (Adapted from Tips for a Typical Mom)

Lemonade Cupcakes
1 box white cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Yellow Food Coloring (optional)

Follow instructions on box and bake into cupcakes

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
4 large strawberries
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4-6 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon strawberry extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Chop strawberries finely and place on paper towel to soak up some of the moisture. Add butter to bowl and beat with a mixer until fluffy, add vanilla & strawberry extract, and about 2 cups of the sugar. Blend well, incorporate cream. Add in small amounts of powdered sugar, beating well after each addition, to reach the desired consistency.

Frost & decorate as desired. (I topped with lemonhead candies)

ENJOY!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Strawberry spinach salads are a common spring & summer salad. I love the combination. However, I've never had them with a strawberry dressing, let alone make one to eat with the salad. I served this with our Easter dinner (I'm only 4 months late in posting this!), and it was a wonderful, light start to the meal! We added feta cheese to the salad, and I think some nuts would add some wonderful texture (we were out, or I would have added some.) I can't wait to enjoy this more often!



STRAWBERRY DRESSING (Adapted from Annie's Eats)
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp. champagne
1 tbsp. sugar
Pinch of salt

In a blender or food processor, combine the strawberries, vinegar, champagne, sugar and salt. Process until the mixture is well combined and completely smooth. Transfer to an airtight bottle or container and refrigerate until ready to use.

ENJOY!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I have to thank my mother-in-law for this pie. When I was home a week ago, she asked if I wanted her rhubarb - she didn't plan on using it & she knows how much I enjoy baking with it (and making my Great-Grandma's Jam, which I'm sure I'll be making soon!)

It's not too weird to get rhubarb & other garden goods from family, but not many people fly across the country with it! I'm sure the guys at security wondered why my carry on bag was over 1/2 full of rhubarb stalks! (That, and a wonderful new bundt cake pan that I can't wait to use! I'll also blog about that later...)

Between the wonderful rhubarb from my in-laws, and a large crate of strawberries from Costco, I knew I had to make a pie!

The flavor of this pie is wonderful! However, I don't think I baked it quite long enough as the bottom of the crust wasn't coming out of the pan as easily as I would have liked. Also, the filling was quite runny (which I know can happen from a fresh fruit filling) Either way, if you don't mind it in more of a crumble form in your dish, you'll love this pie!



STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE (Adapted from AllRecipes)
Makes 1 pie

1 cup white sugar
3 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 400F.

In saucepan, combine rhubarb, sugar & cornstarch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn heat down, and simmer for approximately 5 minutes. Turn off heat

Stir in strawberries & vanilla. Place filling in pie crust, and cover with top crust. Cut slits in crust if using a solid top crust.

Apply yolk to top of pie with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly and brown. Cool on rack.



DOUBLE PIE CRUST
Makes 2 single crusts or 1 double crust

1 cup unsalted butter, chilled & cut into pieces
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup ice water

Combine flour and sugar into the bowl of a food processor. Add butter pieces & blend until just combined.

Slowly pour in cool water while processor is running - stop when dough forms crumbles.

Lightly knead dough until it forms a ball. Divide dough into two parts. Flatten each part into a disk.

When rolling out dough - I use a few spoonfuls of powdered sugar instead of flour to prevent sticking - it prevents an overly "floury" taste to the dough and makes the dough a little sweeter.

ENJOY!

Vanilla Strawberry Shortcakes

Mmmmm.... I LOVE strawberries. Nothing beats buying a 4 pound crate of strawberries for $6. I've never made strawberry shortcake before, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to give it a try. We had friends over for dinner, and everyone was quick to finish dessert. I LOVED the vanilla/strawberry combination. However, the shortcakes themselves were a little more crumbly than I had hoped for.



VANILLA STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES (Adapted from Martha Stewart)

VANILLA SHORTCAKES:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar + an additional tablespoon or 2
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup cold (1 sticks) butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup heavy cream + an additional tablespoon
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Seeds from 2 vanilla beans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, sugar, and the salt until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal but with some pea-size bits of butter remaining, 10 to 12 times.



In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup cream, the eggs, vanilla & vanilla seeds; pour over flour mixture, and pulse until some large clumps begin to form, 25 to 30 times.

Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, gently pack dough, invert, and then tap out onto a baking sheet. Repeat to form 6-7 biscuits.

Brush tops of cakes lightly with cream. Sprinkle sugar on top (I used vanilla sugar for this step). Bake until lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool, about 15 minutes.

Let shortcakes cool completely. Slice in half horizontally. Spoon strawberries & their liquid onto 1/2 of the cakes, top with whipped cream, and the other 1/2 of the shortcake.

VANILLA STRAWBERRY TOPPING
1-1.5 pounds strawberries, sliced
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine strawberries, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and cover. Place in fridge for several hours, stirring occasionally.

VANILLA WHIPPED CREAM
I highly recommend actually whipping heavy cream for this - so much better than "whipped topping." I have a whipped cream dispenser (like the coffee shops have), and flavored mine with about 1 teaspoon vanilla. If you are whipping the heavy cream in a bowl, feel free to add a tablespoon or 2 of sugar to sweeten it.

ENJOY!

Strawberry Cupcakes

The perfect treat for the upcoming Valentine's Day! This recipe makes 6 cupcakes - great for a tasty dessert when you don't want tons of leftovers. They have a very refreshing flavor - the cupcakes are very moist & almost muffin like in texture. The pureed strawberries give the perfect pink hue to the frosting.



STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES (adapted from Martha Stewart (From Sprinkles Bakery))

1/3 cup strawberry puree (just puree fresh or thawed frozen strawberries (without sugar!))
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Put paper liners in 6 cupcake tins.

Cream the butter & sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Add the egg and mix on low until combined.

Add salt, baking powder and half of the flour, and mix briefly on low. Scrape down the bowl and add the vanilla and strawberry puree, mixing just until combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the remaining flour. Mix on low, then divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake tins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in the pans for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

STRAWBERRY FROSTING

2 tbsp soft butter
1/4 cup strawberry puree
1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
Dash of strawberry extract, optional

Mix butter, vanilla and strawberry puree in mixer. Mix in powdered sugar until a thick, spreadable texture. Beat until smooth.

I recommend storing the finished product in the fridge, the frosting is very soft.



Enjoy!