Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

At work, the word "meeting" usually makes people groan, but when they involve a smorgasbord of delicious lunch and dessert, as they often do at my workplace... my eyes light up. We have a lunch meeting this Monday, and I eagerly volunteered to provide a homemade dessert. Lately, I haven't so much as stepped foot in my kitchen other than to whip up a PB&J for lunch or heat up a quick dinner. This was a perfect opportunity for me to get back in the game.

This winter has been particularly crummy (and I'm not just referring to the weather), and I wanted to make something that evoked sunshine. These cupcakes just seem to scream spring. This morning started out dreary and gray, and as the hours spent in my kitchen wore on, the sun came out and the sky is now as blue as can be. A day like today... just me, my sunlit kitchen, and powdered sugar all over the place... was long overdue.

I've made this strawberry frosting a couple times before with fantastic results. I tell everyone it tastes like strawberry ice cream. I love, love, love it. It just makes me smile. This time I paired it with a basic vanilla cake. I'd love to pair it with a chocolate cake or brownies sometime.

And might I add... my blog's header is a huge photo of a cupcake. It's about time I wrote a cupcake post.

Strawberry Frosting (adapted from Sprinkles)
makes enough for 12 cupcakes (I doubled the recipe for 24 cupcakes... seven cups of sugar! ahhhhhhh!)

• 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup unsalted butter, just barely cool but still firm
• pinch of salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Process the strawberries in a food processor until a smooth puree forms.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Lower the speed on your mixer. Gradually add the sugar and mix well.
4. Add the vanilla and 3 tbsp of the strawberry puree. Mix well. You can mix just until blended for a dense frosting, or you can keep going and incorporate more air for a fluffier frosting. It's up to you. I went fluffy this time.

Note: I added a lot of extra strawberry puree this time around because the berry flavor wasn't strong enough. I think it's probably because they're not in season yet. Just add however much strawberry fits your taste.

Butter...butter...and more butter.

Glorious buttercream...

Glorious buttercream after the addition of strawberries.

Darn right I licked the beaters!

This is how you get popular at work. Just kidding. Kinda.

How did you spend your Sunday?

Cheers,

L

P.S. My poor little hand mixer. It's an off-brand, sorta chintzy mixer I got for like 7 bucks at Kmart about 4 years ago. I thought it (not to mention my arm) would die today, with the amount of frosting I made. But it was the little engine that could! Still, it made me yearn for one of these beauties.

Hi.

The obligatory "first post"... how shall I begin?  Well, I've been thinking about starting a food blog for a while ever since I joined Allrecipes.com.  I review recipes and post pictures there all the time, but you have to be a paying member to have a blog there, so... no thanks.  My older sister, Jess, suggested that I start a food blog in a comment on one of my cooking pictures I had posted on Facebook (she has also repeatedly suggested I go to culinary school...hmmm).  My interest and enjoyment in cooking has increased over the past few years but I still consider myself largely a beginner. I would estimate 75% of my cooking is done without a recipe (this does not include baking).  I feel that's the best way to really learn how to cook...experimenting and creating on your own.  But of course, I do need (and greatly appreciate) help from the pros from time to time!

Literally a week ago, I relocated from Philadelphia (where I recently graduated from Temple University...go Owls!) to Delaware (where my boyfriend, Paul, will begin grad school this fall). I'm still unemployed (thanks, economy!) and when I'm not job searching, I'm slowly unpacking the apartment and getting back into cooking. I figured since I have all this free time now, it's the perfect time to take advantage of it and cook as much as I can... as well as start blogging. This is the state of my new, bigger kitchen now:

I love it; it gets plenty of sunlight and opens up to a big patio out back.  Quite an upgrade from our kitchen in Philadelphia.  As you can see, last night I finally unpacked (almost) all our kitchen boxes and unloaded everything onto the counters & stove.  Yikes...what a mess.  It hasn't stopped me from preparing a few meals, though.  Last night it was my favorite way to prepare chicken breasts: Melissa D'Arabian's Versatile 4-Step Chicken.  I love this recipe because you can switch out whichever poultry, aromatics, seasonings, citrus, and green veggie you want (last night I used chicken, onions/garlic, s&p, lemon juice, and American broccoli. In the past I've done pork chops pounded thin, lime juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, spinach...the possibilities are endless).  And, in the corner near the microwave, you can see my mini-crockpot which currently has a batch of homemade tomato sauce simmering away (blog post about that coming soon).

Anyway, this is my little blog.  I hope to chronicle as many cooking adventures as I can, as well as our experiences dining out.  I may write about non-food related topics from time-to-time, as well. We'll see!  In the coming weeks I may back-track and do some posts about favorite meals I've made or enjoyed at my favorite restaurants in the past.  For now, here are some favorite shots of foods I've prepared:

Seared Ahi Tuna with Napa, Cucumber & Carrot Salad

Bacon-Wrapped Roasted Asparagus with Spicy Mayo Dip

Bacon-Wrapped Salmon Fillet with a Balsamic Glaze (everything's better when wrapped in bacon)

Cupcakes with Strawberry Icing (icing recipe...so delicious, tastes like strawberry ice cream)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (recipe)

General Tao Chicken (recipe)

Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

Cheers,

L