Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
Vanilla Cupcakes from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
Makes about 3 dozen
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups milk
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until well blended. Mix in vanilla.
3. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk in two batches, beating until combined after each. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin tins. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops spring back when lightly touched, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.
Strawberry Meringue Buttercream from Martha Stewart
Makes 5 cups
Ingredients:
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) strawberry jam, pureed in a food processor
Directions:
1. In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine egg whites and sugar. Cook, whisking constantly, until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch (about 160 degrees).
2. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg-white mixture on high speed until it holds stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until the mixture is fluffy and cooled, about 6 minutes.
3. Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low speed, add butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (If frosting appears to separate after all the butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again, 3 to 5 minutes more.) Beat in vanilla. Beat on lowest speed to eliminate any air bubbles, about 2 minutes. Stir in strawberry jam with a rubber spatula until frosting is smooth.
White Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Ingredients:
• 8 ounces white chocolate (or any chocolate you prefer)
• 16 ounces fresh strawberries
Directions:
1. Wash strawberries and pat dry. Remove the hulls.
2. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler (or in a microwave-heat in 30 second intervals, mixing chocolate in between intervals).
3. Insert a skewer into the top of the strawberry. Dip strawberry into white chocolate. Allow excess chocolate to drip off.
4. Place on parchment paper and allow to cool under chocolate is hard.
After frosting the cupcakes, top each with a chococlate covered strawberry-voila!
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