Mini Strawberry Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing and White Chocolate Hearts

Mini Strawberry Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing and White Chocolate Hearts

 Strawberry Cupcakes

Before you start, prepare what ever baking pan you will be using.  Line your cupcake pan with pretty decorative liners.

I just thought these looked so pretty.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) 
Makes about 72 mini cupcakes 

INGREDIENTS:

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour 

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons salt

4 egg whites

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup butter

2 cups pureed thawed frozen strawberries 
   *you can use a blender to pure the strawberries after they thaw, then pour the pure through a colander made of mesh material for extra small holes to remove as many of the seeds as possible.   or you can just leave the seed in.  

 DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  

2. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until foamy.  Add 1/2 cup sugar gradually, and continue beating until meringue holds soft peaks.

Foamy egg whites

Soft peeks

3.  Cream butter, gradually adding the remaining 1 cup sugar.  Cream together until light and fluffy.  Add flour mixture alternately with the pureed strawberries.  Beat after each addition until smooth.

4.  Add meringue and beat thoroughly into the batter.  Scoop into your cupcake liners.  I use a tablespoon size scoop to place the batter into the liners.    

5.  Put your batter into a preheated oven at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 8 to 10 min for cupcakes.  Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for no longer than 10 minutes.  Remove from pan and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. 


Buttercream Icing
INGREDIENTS:  
1 cup unsalted room temperature butter
3 cups powder sugar (sift if needed)
1 to 3 teaspoons water (you can add more if needed, but do so little at a time)


DIRECTIONS:
1. Beat the butter to make it soft ( about 30 seconds or so)

2. Add the powder sugar and mix, adding 2 teaspoons of water.  Mix until all is combined.  Adding more water if needed.  You want to have a smooth texture like whipped cream.  You don't want to add more than 4 teaspoons of water.  Mix until it becomes smooth. 

3. Decorate cupcakes with piping bag (or a sandwich bag) and large round Tip (or you can cut the corner of the sandwich bag (freezer bags work better) about 1/2".  
   


Piping with Chocolate
 YOU WILL NEED:
1 lb. bag of red Candy Melts
1 lb. bag of white Candy Melts
2 piping bags (sandwich [freezer] bags)
Tip #2
Tip #3
2 couplers (optional, but it dose stabilize the tip) 
Heart Template (you can make your own you use mine which I have provided at the end.)
Wax paper
Cookie sheet
tape

1. place your heart templates on your cookie sheet and affix with tape.  Place a piece of wax paper over the stencils so it over laps.    

2. You will need to cut the tip of the piping bag and fit the coupler.  Don't put the tip on just yet.  Add the Candy Melts to the bag (about half the bag and twist the end to close the bag off) and place in the microwave with a microwavable bowl and the coupler toward the top.  Heat for 30 seconds and massage the bag to help the melting process.  Place the bag back into the microwave and heat for 15 seconds only.  Massage again.  Heat for another 15 seconds and message again.  The Candy Melts should be smooth.  You want the Candy to be smooth so your piping will be smooth.  If you let the microwave go for the whole minute you could burn the Candy Melts.

3.  Place your tip #3 on.  and squeezing the bag gently.  Start tracing the heart first.

 4. When you are finished tracing, you can fill in the heart.

5. Now Melt the white Candy Melts the same way as the red ones.  With tip #2 I moved my hand in a scribbling motion over the hearts on the left.  and I dotted the ones on the right. 

And here they are.  My husband cant stop eating them.  There won't be any left by tomorrow night.

 

I hope you enjoy!

If you have any questions let me know

 Here is my heart template for me to share with you.

Please, for personal use only.

Thank You!   

Mamita's Next Thing:

Back to the grind!  The Basement improvements! YAY!  This weekend was stressful due to my hubby having to work.  So getting back to routine will be good.  I have to put in my bible study homework, but I am going to finish putting up the fabric, and try to build the small shelf on my own.  Can't wait it's almost over and I have projects dancing in my head.  Hope you all have a good night.  I know I will sleep good tonight. 

Lola