Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes

Sprinkles Cupcakes is a world famous bakery in Beverly Hills.

So when I found a recipe for their strawberry cupcakes, I had to try it!  I've had many a cupcake in my life, but never before had I made one with fresh strawberries.  In love!

At first, I was a little intimidated.  A recipe from Sprinkles?  With their cupcakes selling at $4 a pop, that must be some crazy-difficult recipe to follow.  Either that, or they put gold dust in the frosting.

Turns out, it's super simple!  And the result is just lovely.

Cast of Characters:

♥ 1 cup whole strawberries
♥ 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
♥ 1 tsp baking powder
♥ 1/4 tsp salt
♥ 1/4 cup milk, room temperature
♥ 1 tsp vanilla extract
♥ 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
♥ 1 cup sugar
♥ 1 large egg
♥ 2 egg whites

Prep work:
Set out milk, eggs, and butter to allow them to adjust to room temperature.  Preheat the oven to 350*, line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.

Puree:
Wash and hull all of your strawberries.  Place them in a food processor and process until pureed.  Try to resist drinking it.  I know, it's hard.  You will need 1/3 cup of strawberry puree for the cupcakes, and 3 tablespoons for the frosting.  Once you've measured it all out, you can devour what's left :)

Cupcakes:
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a small bowl, mix milk, 1/3 cup strawberry puree, and vanilla.

Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter at medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  Slowly add sugar, and then reduce speed to medium.  Add egg and egg whites.

Lower the speed once again, and slowly add half of the flour mixture.  Pour in strawberry puree mixture, and then blend in the rest of the flour.  Be careful not to over-mix--it will make the cupcakes dense and heavy.

Pour the batter into the cupcake liners, and put in your oven for 25-30 minutes.  The tops of the cupcakes should be golden brown when you take it out, and you should be able to stick a toothpick in the center of one and pull it out cleanly.  Set the muffin tin on a wire rack and allow the cupcakes to cool thoroughly.

Now for the good stuff...frosting!

For the Frosting, you will need:
♥ 3 T strawberry puree
♥ 2 sticks (one cup) butter, room temperature
♥ 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
♥ 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
♥ pinch of salt

In your mixer, beat butter and salt together until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar slowly, beat until well combined.  Stir in vanilla extract and strawberry puree, and watch pure magic unfold.  Again, be careful not to over-mix.  This is the most amazing frosting I've ever had!  And why wouldn't it be?  Butter/sugar is my favorite baking combination!  Add strawberries, and it's pure heaven.

Pure heaven.

Happy homemaking!

♥ Bethany

Pin It