Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Berry season is upon us, meaning it's time for new strawberry recipes.

This is one recipe that has been in the making for several weeks, or months really. I wanted to have a more portable option of a strawberry shortcake recipe that has to be served on plates and eaten with a proper fork.

My grandmother's Fresh Strawberry Cream Pie was the inspiration.

It has similar flavors but it's an easier recipe to put together that you can eat with your hands. A shortcake in cupcake form.

It's a great recipe for Mother's Day brunch, Valentine’s Day, a small wedding, a baby shower, and birthdays.

Cake ingredients

• Butter: the recipe calls for unsalted butter, the best brand you can afford.
• Eggs: fresh ones are always recommended.
• White, granulated sugar.
• Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works and is infinitely cheaper. 
• Milk: whole milk is recommended for a richer cake. But you can use reduced-fat or almond milk.
• All-purpose or cake flour.
• Baking powder: always make sure it's not expired.
• Salt: I like to use kosher salt when baking. But regular table salt works just fine.

How to make the cupcake batter

This is a butter cake, similar to a pound cake, so the batter is pretty straightforward for this type of cake (like the Basic Vanilla Butter Cake).

• Creaming: soft butter and sugar are beaten for several minutes. This process incorporates air needed to help the cake rise well in the oven.
• Sifting the flour mixture: this is an essential step as it incorporates air and builds on the creaming step to get a fluffy, tender cake.
• Scraping sides of bowl: do this several times (image below, right) to ensure the batter is well integrated.
• Filling the pan: this is a cake batter that will dome when it rises, and I recommend filling it no more than ¾ of the muffin tins capacity to ensure you don't have huge cupcakes that will be messy to eat after the filling and frosting are added.

Fresh strawberries

They're essential to making a strawberry filling with a fresh flavor, so don't substitute for frozen ones.

How to store them: they keep well whole for several days. Wash and cut the stems at the last minute. If they're very fresh, they do keep for a day in the refrigerator after the stem is cut, but I'd rather do it at the last minute.

Strawberry filled cupcakes

Shortcake is essentially a dessert that uses fresh fruit. So a fresh strawberry cupcake filling is always the first option.

But, since we might want to eat them when berries are not available, there are other options.

Filling alternative: use purchased or homemade strawberry sauce if you can't find fresh berries. Or a very good strawberry jam.

Kitchen notes

• Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
• Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer placed inside the oven (like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust, if any. 
• Creaming: butter and sugar are creamed, which should take several minutes. This process incorporates air that is needed to help the cupcakes rise well in the oven.
• Sifting: I find this to be an essential step with layer cakes. It builds on the creaming step above to help the batter do its thing in the oven and get us the best result possible.
• Filling the pan: this is a cake batter that will dome when it bakes, and I recommend filling it no more than ¾ of the muffin tins capacity to ensure you don't have huge cupcakes that will be messy to eat after the filling and frosting are added. Or the batter might overflow as it bakes.
• Strawberries: you can make a larger hole that holds more strawberries. Just keep in mind that cupcakes are eaten with our hands.
• Topping: I recommend you wait until the last minute to add it. If eating these outside on a hot day, keep them in the fridge as long as possible before serving them without the strawberries on top. Add them at the last minute.

Troubleshooting common issues

1. Dry or dense cupcakes can happen if you overmix the batter, bake the cupcakes for too long, or use too much flour. Measure dry ingredients correctly, avoid overmixing the batter after adding the flour, and remove from the oven when a toothpick comes out clean.
2. Soggy cupcakes: don’t overfill with the strawberry filling; assemble them a few hours before serving them for best results. 
3. Grainy whipped cream means the cream was overwhipped, which can happen if you beat the cream for too long. To avoid this, beat it until medium-firm peaks form and then use a hand whisk to mix some more until it *almost* forms stiff peaks. It’s hard to overheat when doing it by hand.