Strawberry Bourbon Vanilla Cupcakes
Soft and fluffy vanilla cupcakes, loaded with sweet strawberry jam and topped with a swirl of strawberry buttercream - the perfect dessert for strawberry season!
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 230 g margarine room temperature
- 230 g caster sugar
- 230 g gluten-free self-raising flour blend
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- ½ tsp Bourbon vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp Xanthan Gum
For the filling
- 6 tsp strawberry jam
For the buttercream
- 250 g unsalted butter softened, room temperature
- 350 g icing sugar sifted
- 20 g freeze-dried strawberries powdered
- 3 tbsp double-cream
- ¼ tsp salt
- 6 fresh strawberries halved, to top
Instructions
For the cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 160 C fan and line a 12-hole muffin tray with 12 large cupcake cases.
- Cream the margarine on a high speed in a mixer for 2-3 minutes until lighter in colour and fluffy in texture.230 g margarine
- Add the sugar and whisk again on a high speed until fully incorporated.230 g caster sugar
- Whisk in the eggs one at a time and then the bourbon vanilla extract.4 large eggs, ½ tsp Bourbon vanilla extract
- Sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and Xanthan Gum, and mix in on a low-medium speed until just incorporated and no pockets of flour remain.230 g gluten-free self-raising flour blend, ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp Xanthan Gum
- Use an ice cream scoop to spoon one generous scoop into each of the cupcake cases, dividing the mixture evenly.
- Bake on the middle shelf for around 20-25 minutes, until springy to the touch and an inserted toothpick comes out clean with no wet crumbs stuck to it.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool for a minute or two, before transfering to a cooling rack to cool completely before preparing the buttercream.
For the filling
- Once the cupcakes have cooled to room temperature, create a hole in the centre of each cupcake and spoon ⅓ a teaspoon of strawberry jam into each hole. Place the tops back on top of the jam to cover the hole.6 tsp strawberry jam
For the strawberry frosting
- For the buttercream, cream the butter in a mixer on the highest speed for 4-5 minutes, scraping down the sides as neccesary. The butter should be paler in colour and light and fluffy in texture.250 g unsalted butter
- Add the powdered freeze-dried strawberries and the double cream and whisk again until fully incorporated.20 g freeze-dried strawberries
- Sift in the icing sugar and salt in batches, until no lumps remain. If the buttercream is too runny, add a tablespoon of icing sugar at a time to thicken. If the opposite occurs and the buttercream is too stiff, add another tablespoon of double-cream to loosen.350 g icing sugar, 3 tbsp double-cream, ¼ tsp salt
- Transfer the buttercream to the piping bag fitted with an open-star tip, and pipe a blob into the centre of the cupcake to create some support for the swirl. Starting at the base, pipe 3 swirls around the cupcake and top with half a strawberry to finish.6 fresh strawberries
Notes
Tips and Tricks
Room temperature ingredients are essential for this recipe to work. Room temperature ingredients ensures that they all can be mixed together thoroughly. If you forget to take your eggs out of the fridge beforehand, place them in a bowl of lukewarm, not hot, water 15 minutes prior to baking to bring them to room temperature quickly.
Uniform-sized cupcakes - I like to use an ice cream scoop to spoon my mixture into the cases. This way the cupcakes are likely to have a more uniform size after baking.
The toothpick test is a great way to check whether your cupcakes are done. As all ovens are calibrated differently, the baking times stated are always suggested a a rough guide. To check if the cupcakes are done, insert a tootpick into the middle of a cupcake and if it comes out with no crumbs stuck to it, you can assume that the cupcakes are baked through and ready to come out.