High Altitude Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
These from scratch strawberry cupcakes are soft, moist and fluffy, made with fresh strawberries in both the cake and the buttercream.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Strawberry Reduction
- 8 oz fresh (or frozen) strawberries
- 1-2 small drops red gel food coloring, optional
Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 1 ½ tsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup cooled strawberry reduction
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (do not substitute melted butter)
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white (save the extra yolk for another use)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Buttercream
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tsp meringue powder, optional
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 tbsp cooled strawberry reduction
Instructions
Strawberry Reduction
- Wash and hull the strawberries, then use a small food processor to puree the strawberries.
- Scrape the pureed strawberries into a small saucepan, and stir in the food coloring, if using. Over medium low heat, simmer the strawberries, stirring frequently to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until reduced to 1/2 cup. This may take up to 30 minutes.
- Once reduced, transfer the strawberry reduction to a container, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until needed. You can make the reduction up to 2 days in advance. You'll be using the strawberry reduction in both the cupcakes and the buttercream.
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a standard sized muffin pan with 15 paper liners. These cupcakes are a little sticky, so lightly spray the paper liners with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Add the milk, lemon juice, strawberry reduction (1/4 cup), oil, egg, egg white, and vanilla, and whisk just until smooth.
- Divide the batter between the paper liners, filling them no more than 2/3 - 3/4 full.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 18 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 2 minutes, then use a spoon to gently lift them out of the pan and onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the softened butter on medium speed for 1 minute until smooth.
- Separately, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients by spoonfuls, mixing just to combine.
- Add the vanilla and the strawberry reduction. Whip the buttercream on medium speed (#6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer) for about 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to Stir, and mix for 1 minute.
- Scoop the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with tip 1M. Pipe the buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes, and decorate with sprinkles.
Notes
Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days.
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