MSC: Strawberry Cupcakes and I'm In!

I know you have all been waiting a long time for this day -- I am in the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club!  Check it out!  This week, Sherry of Sherry Starts Cooking chose Strawberry Cupcakes from pages 146-147 of the book.  Last month, I said I thought the cupcakes were getting better and better and these cupcakes continued the trend.  These were delicious.  I brought them to my son's second birthday party and they got rave reviews, which was very nice.  I also got to try one and thought it was delicious, even after sitting out in the 110 degree heat (a record) and then being refrigerated again.  I bet they would be even better fresh.

These cupcakes were pretty easy to put together.  I halved the recipe, which meant using 1.5 eggs and .5 egg whites, but that was not too difficult.  The best part about them was that you fold fresh strawberries into the batter right before you bake them and it gives you a special surprise when you bite into them.

Martha's recipe calls for strawberry swiss meringue buttercream which, in the introduction to the cupcakes she says calls for jam and in the actual recipe calls for fresh strawberries.  I decided to go for the fresh strawberries, but I didn't feel like putting them in the blender because I didn't feel like washing dishes, so I decided to chop them and fold them in.  

However, the fates were against me because our AC had broken that afternoon and it was over 100 degrees, even at night.  I made one recipe of the swiss meringue buttercream and it REALLY didn't work because it was so hot in the house.  I had to throw it out.  Trust me, it was disgusting.  So, I woke up very early the next morning when it was slightly cooler (like 85) and made Martha's fluffy vanilla frosting instead because I didn't feel like turning on the stove to cook the egg whites for the swiss meringue.  At the end, I dumped in some fresh chopped strawberries.  I was a little worried that the water in the strawberries would ruin the buttercream, but it worked out great and tasted delicious.

I highly, highly recommend these cupcakes.  They are delicious and are a great use of strawberries during the season.