Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

I’m so ready for spring. I’m sick of the cold and wind, although we didn’t have any snow this year. So I am going to force spring upon you in the hope of it pushing the warmer months up a little bit. When I think of spring, I always think of Strawberries. And what better way to show off strawberries than in Strawberry Shortcake, or more specifically, in Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes? I decided to make them in cupcake form because, well, I like cupcakes. I used a Martha Stewart recipe for angel food cake to make the cupcake, filled the inside of the cupcake with a strawberry-sugar mixture, and topped it off with a strawberry whipped cream icing. These are pretty delicious if I do say so myself! Ingredients: Angel Food Cake Cupcakes:

• 1 cup cake flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 large egg whites, room temperature
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice and zest from 1 lemon, divided
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Strawberry filling:

• 3/4 container of strawberries, hulled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Strawberry whipped cream:

• 1 8-oz container cream cheese
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• lemon zest from lemon used in angel food cake
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4-5 strawberries, stems removed and finely chopped

Begin by combining the 3/4 container of chopped strawberries and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until ready to use. (I ended up chopping these up more afterwards; I’d suggest doing it initially) To make the angel food cake cupcakes, line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.   Sift flour and salt into a bowl and set aside. Separate egg whites from yolks. Zest the lemon and set the zest aside. Juice the lemon. Add the egg whites to a mixer and beat on medium high until foamy (about 1 minute). Add the lemon juice to the egg whites and beat until soft peaks form. Continue to beat, adding about 1 tablespoon sugar at a time, until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat to combine. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Sift the flour mixture over the egg-white mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time, folding the flour into the egg whites using a rubber spatula each time. Be careful not to over mix, you want it to stay really fluffy. Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake tins (about a heaping tablespoon in each one) and smooth the tops of each. Bake until golden, or approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool in pan. While waiting for the cupcakes to cool, prepare the frosting.   Combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk on medium speed until smooth. While the mixture is still whipping, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Whip until stiff peaks form. Fold in the finely chopped strawberries. Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a small paring knife to cut out the center of the cupcake. Fill with some of the strawberry-sugar mixture. Add the frosting to a plastic bag and cut a small corner off the bottom of the bag. Pipe the icing on to the cupcakes and top with a strawberry slice. This is such a light and fluffy cupcake! I love the fresh strawberries in the center and how the chopped strawberries in the frosting turned it a slight pink color. The angel food cake had me a little worried (it was my first time making angel food cake) but it turned out great! Here’s hoping these cupcakes bring spring weather to us a little sooner!

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