Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Yes, you read that correctly. No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Yes, these cupcakes are absolutely delicious.

Have I answered all of your questions? Okay, lezgo.

I got bored on Sunday before the Game of Thrones finale (I’m still not capable of forming complete sentences) and I started baking like a crazy person. Seriously. A crazy person.

But these puppies were crazy delicious sooooo I’m cool with being a crazy person if I get these cupcakes at the end of the day!

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons of potato starch
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract
  • 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup of unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup of almond milk (trust me!)
  • 1/2 cup of diced strawberries
  • 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
For the Strawberry Buttercream
  • 1 cup of finely diced strawberries plus 6 strawberries, halved (separated)
  • 3/4 cup of unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons of heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

Directions

For the Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Spray a 12-cup standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray, place paper liners in each cup, and spray the insides of each liner with the nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients for the cupcakes (flour, potato starch, baking powder, salt, and sugar) and stir. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and lemon extract and beat with an electric mixer, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the rest of the cupcake ingredients (vegetable oil, butter, almond milk, diced strawberries, and lemon zest) and beat until well-mixed.

Pour the batter evenly into each of the 12 cups on the muffin tin and put the tin in the oven. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the toothpick test comes out clean. Remove the tin from the oven and let the cupcakes cool.

For the Strawberry Buttercream

Combine the finely diced strawberries, butter, heavy cream, and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until the buttercream becomes light and fluffy.

Use a small spatula, knife, or pastry bag to frost each cupcake. Top each cupcake with a strawberry half and serve!