Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting

Strawberry Cake
Recipe by: Leelabean (Yield: 12 cupcakes or 2  8″ round cakes)

http://leelabeanbakes.com/blog/cake/berry-licious-strawberry-cake/


Cake

135g cake flour (135g)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
150g granulated sugar (170g)
1 1/2 tsp strawberry essence
57g unsalted butter, room temperature
5 tbsp Canola oil (or other neutral-flavored oil)
2 lg eggs, room temperature
2 tbsp fresh strawberry puree
118 ml milk 


Frosting

1 stick salted butter (110g)
60g icing sugar (sifted)
2-3 tbsp strawberry puree

Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a measuring cup, mix milk (or substitution) and vanilla extract and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt and set this aside, as well. To puree your strawberries, place a few (around 4 or 5) hulled berries in a mini-food processor and blitz until it looks smooth, like the picture below.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the butter, oil, sugar, and gelatin and mix using your paddle attachment for about 1 1/2 minutes until it is light pink in color.

Add the eggs one at a time and blend well, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Then add the strawberry puree and mix to combine.

Add the 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix for a few seconds. Then add 1/2 the milk and vanilla mixture and mix for a few more seconds. Repeat this process ending with the final third of the dry ingredients. Take care to not over-mix this batter. You may have to fold in the last bit of dry ingredients.

Pour the batter into your cake pans or cupcake liners and bake for:

 cupcakes: 20 minutes    8″ round cake: 26-30 minutes 

or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the cakes cool on your counter, then un-mold and frost as desired.

This cake lasts, unfrosted, for about 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature and about 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge. You may also freeze this cake, wrapped in plastic and placed in an airtight plastic bag, for up to 3 months.

Prepare the frosting by beating the butters in a stand mixer on low-medium speed. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar and strawberry puree (1 spoonful at a time).