Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Jenny is in perpetual search for easy, weeknight recipes to attempt to feed her family. When they balk, she just eats more.

Today: How to love your cupcakes, no matter what.

This is a story of love and frosting triumphing over disappointment. 

I came to Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes because of the bounty of strawberries in the markets, and because I was long on eggs. This is an angel cake recipe, more or less, stuffed with some fun berries and then frosted with irresistible whipped cream. 

I am sure you are wondering what could go wrong. Well, your cakes could fall. First, if you put too little batter in the cups, they will shrink like wool sweaters in the dryer. Put too much, and you risk overflow, and they still will fall in a little bit, but my advice is to pop more batter into your cupcake papers than usual. 

Do not do as I did and add 1/4 cup of sugar to the batter, but if you do or don’t, they will still probably fall. The taste will actually not change all that much. 

The strawberry middles are such a great surprise, and the frosting will hide your sad cupcake face. They are honestly a little irresistible once you get them to the table. 

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes by I Can Cook That

Serves 24

1 cup cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 large egg whites, room temperature
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 zest from lemon
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 container of strawberries, hulled and chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
8 ounces container cream cheese
3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
4-5 strawberries, stems removed and finely chopped

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photos by James Ransom