Friday, 1 August 2014

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

I love these Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes so much that I've made them twice already this year, and I highly recommend you do the same. 




They're based on an American dessert - the Strawberry Shortcake. It reminds me so much of our English favourite, the Scone.  
A buttery, creamy sponge filled in the centre with a fresh strawberry compote, and topped with fresh whipped cream - you have got to bake these before the end of summer!

Strawberries, previously: Eton Mess CakeFraisier CakeStrawberries and Cream CakeGiant Strawberries and Cream SconeStrawberry Shortcake Squares

A Simple List of Ingredients:

1. Sugar
2. Butter
3. Eggs
4. Plain Flour
5. Baking Powder
6. Salt
7. Milk
8. Oranges
9. Vanilla
10. Strawberries
11. Cornflour
12. Double Cream
13. Icing Sugar

Bismillah, let's bake!

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 or 180 Degrees C.
Line a 12 hole cupcake tin with paper cases.
Into a large bowl, in goes 86 grams (2/3 cup or 3 ounces) of Sugar.

Along with 113 grams (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) of Butter, softened.

Using either a wooden spoon or an electric paddle attachment ..

.. beat the two together until combined and creamy.

Zest 1 Orange - I usually use either this or this to remove the zest.

Add the orange zest to the bowl along with 2 Eggs.

Next, squeeze out the juice of 1/2 the Orange.

And pour that in as well.

Give everything another good mix until combined - it will look terrible like mine did but don't worry, everything will be fine once you add in the flour, inshallah!

Speaking of flour, take:
340 grams (1 and 1/2 cup or 12 ounces) of Plain Flour
Pinch of Salt
2 teaspoons of Baking Powder

Add in the flour, salt and baking powder. Keep mixing whilst slowly pouring in 125 ml (1/2 cup) of Milk.

Give it a good mix for a minute until you have a lovely, smooth batter.

Divide your batter between 12 cupcake cases - fill them about 3/4 full. 
Bake in the preheated oven at Gas Mark 4 or 180 Degrees C for 18-20 minutes or until risen.
Once baked, cool completely on a wire rack.

Next, make the strawberry filling. Into a saucepan, place:
340 grams (1 and 1/2 cups or 12 ounces) of Fresh Strawberries, diced
2 tablespoons Sugar
Zest of 1/2 Orange

Place onto a medium-high heat.

Cook until the sugar dissolves ..

.. this will take around 2 minutes.

Then, pour in a mixture of:
1 teaspoon Cornflour
1 tablespoon Orange Juice

Stir again for another minute, and then take off the heat. Let it cool completely.

The last job to do is whip the cream. Into a mixing bowl, place:
312 ml (1 and 1/2 cup) of Double Cream
1 teaspoon of Vanilla (or, like me, the seeds of a vanilla pod)
3 tablespoons of Icing Sugar
1/2 teaspoon of Orange Zest

Using an electric whisk, whisk until stiff peaks form.

To assemble, scoop out the centre of each cupcake.

I used a melon baller to do this but a teaspoon would work fine too. I'm sure you'll find some use of the leftover cake ;)

Grab your cooled strawberry filling.

Using a teaspoon, spoon in the strawberry filling into the centre of the cupcake.

Keep going ..

.. until they're all done!

Fit a piping bag with a star nozzle and the whipped cream, and pipe over the strawberry filling.

Garnish with a whole strawberry.

And, maybe a few chocolate sprinkles!

The cupcakes are ready! Enjoy!

Full Written Recipe:


Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Adapted from Laura in the Kitchen

Ingredients – makes 12 cupcakes

For the Sponge
86 grams (2/3 cup or 3 ounces) Sugar
113 grams (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) Butter, softened
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
340 grams (1 and ½ cup or 12 ounces) Plain Flour
125 ml (1/2 cup) Milk
Zest of 1 Orange
Juice of ½ Orange
2 teaspoons of Vanilla

For the Strawberry Centre
340 grams (1 and ½ cups or 12 ounces) Fresh Strawberries, hulled and diced
2 tablespoons Sugar
Zest of ½ Orange
1 teaspoon Cornflour
1 tablespoon Orange Juice

For the Whipped Cream
312 ml (1 and ¼ cup) Double Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla (or the seeds of a Vanilla Pod)
3 tablespoons Icing Sugar
½ teaspoon of Orange Zest

To Decorate
12 Beautiful Strawberries

Method

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 or 180 Degrees C. Line your cupcake tin with 12 paper cases.

For the sponge, into a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar.

Add in the orange zest, orange juice, eggs and vanilla. Beat together until combined.

Finally, add in the flour, salt and baking powder. Keep mixing whilst slowly pouring in the milk until well combined.

Divide the batter between the cases (fill about ¾ full) and pop into the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes or until risen.

Once baked, remove from the tin and place onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the strawberry filling, in a small bowl, mix together the orange juice and cornflour. Into a saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar and orange zest. Cook on a medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves (about 2 minutes). Pour in the cornflour mix, and stir for another minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.

To make the whipped cream, put the double cream, vanilla, icing sugar and orange zest into a large bowl. Whisk with an electric whisk until stiff peaks form.

To assemble the cupcakes, scoop out the centre of the cake (I used a melon baller but a teaspoon would work too). Into the centre, place 1 teaspoon of the strawberry mixture. Put your whipped cream into a piping bag and pipe on top of the strawberries. You could also just dollop the cream on with a spoon. 

Decorate with a whole fresh strawberry and a few chocolate sprinkles, if you want. Enjoy!


This Time Last Year:

Chicken Twister Wraps - crispy, spicy chicken wrapped in a soft tortilla with a creamy sauce and salad - it would be the perfect main before these cupcakes for dessert!

Keep me in your duas, please,

Wasalaam!


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