The perfect cupcake indulgence to share with your loved ones, a strawberry shortcake topped with ice cream buttercream and a cookie bottom. Perfect for birthdays, Valentine’s day, or any special occasion <3
Happy belated Valentine’s Day, I’m back! I haven’t blogged in awhile, so I think I have some ‘splainin to do. The truth is, I have spent the last few months alternating between work and my bed in a sleepy haze. At first I could barely stand the thought of food, let alone bake or write about it. I was mostly living off of saltines, all things spicy/fatty/vinegary, and craving ice water by the litre. All this to say, I am over the moon excited to announce that our little family is growing by one! So let’s get baking before third trimester really hits me hard…
Lately, I have been feeling energetic and ready to get back to some normalcy. Read: baking all the things! I have been working on a few recipes to share with you, but this one is a fave that I made recently for my beau on Valentine’s Day. I stumbled on a recipe by Nadiya Hussain and was inspired by her version of a cupcake that incorporates strawberry ice cream, cookies, and a whole strawberry into ONE cupcake! I honestly can’t think of a better combo. Her version uses clotted cream, which is a British thing that is “illegal” in the US, so I modified the recipe to be American-friendly. Apparently the US is missing out on this unpasteurised butter-like alternative, so I’ll have to try to get my hands on it someday…
This recipe has four distinct layers: a vanilla cookie sandwich bottom topped with a whole strawberry that will caramelise in the oven, wrapped in vanilla cupcake, and topped with strawberry-flavoured ice cream buttercream frosting. Whew! Although there are multiple steps in constructing this masterpiece, each part is quite simple and just requires patience and time. There are no shortcuts to perfection!
First, make the strawberry frosting to allow it time to cool and firm up in the freezer. I used Breyer’s strawberry ice cream for a more natural flavouring, but any strawberry ice cream will work fine. I like my frosting to stay mostly white in colour with a faint hue of pink, but if you want more pink colour feel free to add a bit of food colouring at the end.
Next, arrange your sandwich cookies in the bottom of each cupcake liner. I used Oreo Golden Sandwich Cookies, but any sandwich cookie will do. Then top each cookie with a whole strawberry. You may have to cut larger strawberries down a bit more so they don’t stick up too high above the cupcake tin.
For the cupcake, I used a simple vanilla cupcake batter. I find the easiest way to add the batter around the strawberries is to pipe it with a 1A Wilton piping tip, but you can spoon the batter around the strawberries if you don’t want to fuss with piping. The whole strawberries will caramelise in the oven and melt into the vanilla batter, making a perfectly moist shortcake. Yum!
After baking the cupcakes, pipe or spread the chilled frosting onto thoroughly cooled cupcakes. I again used the 1A Wilton piping tip, but a classic IM swirl will do fine as well. The frosting is quite sweet, so if you have a sugar averse husband like I do, just add a touch of the ice cream frosting.
Sprinkle cupcakes with reckless abandon for the perfect cupcake <3
Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
Equipment
- Electric hand whisk or stand mixer
- 12-hole large muffin tray and cupcake liners
- Piping bags x 2 (optional)
- 1A Wilton piping tip (optional)
Ingredients
Icing
- 175 g (12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 350 g (2 cups) confectioners sugar
- 125 g (1 cup) strawberry ice cream
- Salt to taste, or 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon
Cupcakes
- 12 medium strawberries
- 12 round vanilla sandwich cookies
- 95 g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 58 g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter room temperature
- 67 g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 60 g (1/4 cup) buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the strawberry icing: Whisk the softened butter with a hand whisk or stand mixer until light and fluffy, then sift in confectioners sugar until well combined and there are no lumps remaining. Whisk in the strawberry ice cream, and salt to taste, until combined. I use approximately 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Taste the frosting, if it is too sweet, add more salt. Cover and chill the icing in the freezer for at least 30 minutes while you make the cupcakes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners and place one cookie at the bottom of each liner. Cut the tops off of 12 medium strawberries and place whole strawberries on each cookie with the pointy side up. The strawberries should be cut so that they just reach the top of the cupcake liner. Set aside.
- Make the cupcake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In stand mixer or medium bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix well. Finally, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, 1/3 at a time. Mix until well combined and you have a smooth batter.
- Add the batter to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip and pipe the batter around the strawberries, filling the cupcake liners approximately 3/4 full. Do not over-fill. Alternatively, the batter can be spooned into the cupcake liners. Tap the tray on the counter to level the batter.
- Bake cupcakes for 22-24 minutes at 350°F (177°C), or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake comes out clean.
- Transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- When cupcakes are cooled, they are ready to be frosted however you prefer. I used a 1A Wilton tip and a piping bag. Sprinkle with decorative sugar or sprinkles.
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