Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes

My attempt at it anyway. After finally learning the quintessential cupcake swirl method for decorating with frosting, I'm a little obsessed with cupcakes right now. Michelle had given me the Honors Club kit for my birthday (thank you, Michelle!), which gives me many, MANY opportunities to make cupcakes. I guess I can make some muffins too. ;)

Not sure how pronounced the taste will be in the cupcake as I only used 1/4 cup of strawberry daiquiri mix. I adapted the Martha Stewart recipe for Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes. The batter tasted great. The cupcakes are baking as I type, so hopefully they'll turn out well.

What I Used
1 cup whole pureed fresh strawberries
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup skim milk, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
4 tsp meringue powder
1/4 cup TGI Friday's On the Rocks strawberry daiquiri

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

2. Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. Set aside.

[I hulled a 1-lb. container of strawberries and snacked on a few of them while hulling; the rest went into the food processor. I used this much since I had seen reviews stating that the strawberry taste wasn't very pronounced using the original recipe's amount, which is 1/3 cup.]

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until light and fluffy.

5. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy.

6. Add egg until just blended.

7. Add meringue powder until just blended.

8. Slowly add the puree and the strawberry daiquiri liquid until just blended.

9. Slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended.

10. Add the milk and the vanilla; mix until just blended.

11. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.



12. Fill each cup about 3/4 full.

[I broke my usual 2/3 cup full because I didn't want a lot of extra batter left. I had enough batter for 3.5 more cupcakes. Also, the cupcakes didn't dome at all, so it's all good.]

13. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes.

14. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.



Verdict: super moist and delicious. Yes, I ate one cupcake to make sure. Didn't taste very boozy, but it has a pronounced strawberry flavor like I wanted.

I didn't use the frosting that went with the recipe. I made frosting flavored using the strawberry daiquiri liquid.