In my family, my younger sisters are considered the chefs.  They like to cook and bake.  My younger sister even opened her own home business, The Pink Pastry Bar, where she bakes yummy cakes, cookies and cupcakes.  My youngest sister writes chronicles of her cooking and baking experience on her blog.  As for me, I love to eat sweets and wait for cooked food.  Hehehehe!

So what made me try baking?  I told myself I must learn a new skill.  Since I have a small toaster oven, maybe I should try to do something easy.  So when I was browsing The Hutong’s calendar, I booked myself to their cupcake making class scheduled today.  Does one really need to join a class to learn baking?  Some will say no but I need at least some guidance in the beginning.

Strawberry Cupcake with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Strawberry Cupcake ingredients (good for 20 cupcakes):

• 4 tablespoons strawberry jam
• 1/2 cup fresh strawberry puree
• 2-1/2 cup flour
• 2-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1-1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 6 egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1-1/2 cup dark chocolate disks or 20 Hershey kisses, unwrapped

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting:

• 2 tablespoon strawberry puree
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 drops red food coloring

Instructions for Strawberry Cupcake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).
2. Place cupcake liners in the baking tins.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the jam and fresh strawberry puree
4. In a second bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
5. In a large, separate bowl, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Approximately 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the egg whites and vanilla and beat until combined.
6. Add in half the flour mixture and beat until just combined.
7. Add in the milk and beat until just combined.
8. Add in the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined.
9. Fold in the strawberry mixture.  To fold, instead of mixing vigorously in a clockwise manner, you mix slowly in like a scooping manner from one end to another.
10. Fill each cupcake liner with 1 tablespoon of batter.
11. Place 2 to 3 disks (flat side down) of chocolate in the center of the batter to form a layer of chocolate and gently press into the batter.
12. Spoon in 1 more tablespoon of batter on top of the chocolate, or slightly more, so that the liners are 3/4 full.
13. Bake the cupcakes for 15 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake (towards the edge, to avoid stabbing the chocolate) comes out clean. (For small toaster oven, bake the cupcakes for 10 to 20 minutes.)
14. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Instructions for Strawberry buttercream frosting:

1. In a large bowl, mix together butter and powdered sugar until smooth.
2. Add food coloring, vanilla and fresh strawberry puree and beat until combined.
3. Add more puree (can also use small amounts of milk or cream) if frosting is too thick, or more powdered sugar to reach desired consistency.  Add more food coloring to reach desired depth of color.

My first baking experience was fun, tiring and educational.  Preparing the cupcake mixture and buttercream frosting are quite easy.  Cutting out the designs on top and preparing flowers using sugar paste needs skill and practice.   Putting on the frosting was a bit difficult but probably I just need to get the hang on it.  I also need to have a bit more creativity to make my cupcake look appetizing.  The photo on top is my finish product, the photo at the bottom is my seatmate, Hailey.  I can’t wait for my next baking session.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to recreate it again.

Share and Enjoy