Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Today is another friends 30th birthday. I said at the last 30th birthday we attended that I would make cupcakes. Strawberry was mentioned and I thought that sounded perfect. Its a nice summer flavor. I got some really nice fresh strawberries at the farmers market this week. I like using fresh strawberries over frozen ones, but I guess it really doesn't matter.

Ingredients:

*3/4 Cup Strawberries cut in half
*1 1/2 Cups Flour
*1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
*1/4 Teaspoon Salt
*1/4 Cup Milk
*1/2 Cup Butter
*1 Cup Sugar
*1 Egg
*2 Egg Whites
*1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

*Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. Line muffin pan with liners

*Place halved strawberries in food processor to make strawberry puree.

*Place Strawberry Puree in 1/4 cup measure cup and set aside. You should make some extra Strawberry Puree because you will need some for the frosting. But you can always do that later if you don't want to right now. Set aside

*In a bowl, combine the Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt. Set aside.

*In the bowl of your mixer cream the Butter.

*Add Sugar and beat until blended.

*Add the Egg and Egg Whites one at a time. Mix until combined.

*Stir in Vanilla Extract.

*Combine Milk and Strawberry Puree.

*Add half of the Flour Mixture to the mixing bowl and combine.

*Mix in the Strawberry/Milk Mix.

*Add the rest of the Flour MIx and combine.

*Scoop batter into muffin cups.

*Bake for approx. 20-25 minutes. Cool before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:

*1 Cup Butter
*3 Cups Powdered Sugar
*1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
*3 Tablespoons Strawberry Puree

*In the bowl of your mixer, beat the Butter until fluffy.

*Add the Powdered Sugar one cup at at time and beat well after each addition.

*Add the Vanilla Extract and Strawberry Puree and beat well.

*Beat Frosting until fluffy.

Decorating:

I decided to keep these simple and just frost the cupcakes and top with a strawberry half.

*Packed and ready for transport.

*Enjoy!!!!