Strawberry Shortstop Cupcakes

Recipe courtesy of Erik Larsen, Heaven Cupcake, Cupcake Wars 2011
Grant Stake Women's Conference January 2013

Cupcakes:
2.5 cups all purpose flour (scoop only don't level off with a knife/may get too much flour)
1 teasp. baking soda
1 teasp. salt
1.5 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups vegatable oil
2 eggs
1 egg white
1/2 teasp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1/2 cup diced frozen strawberries (love this added ingredient to the batter!)
1 teasp. vinegar

Strawberry cream cheese frosting

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
10 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces butter
1 teasp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
6 fresh strawberries chopped (I typically put 3 fresh in my frosting - gives it more a pinkish tint) and use the other pieces for garnish...


Preheat oven to 340 degrees F. (yes it says 340)

Line a cupcake or muffin pan with 24 cupcake liners.  Whisk the flour, baking soda, sugar and salt into a large-size bowl.  Set the bowl aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, with a paddle attachment, mix vegetable oil, eggs, milk, vinegar and vanilla on low for about 30 seconds.  Leave mixer on low speed and gradually add in the large-size bowl of dry mixture.  Fold in diced strawberries with mixture and remove bowl from the mixer.

Fill 24 cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter and bake for 20 min. or until golden and baked through.  (large cookie scoop worked good).  Cool the cupcakes completely.

Frosting:
In a food processor combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, strawberries and powdered sugar and mix until creamy.  Put the frosting into a pastry bag and cut 1/2 inch off the tip.

To Assemble:
Generously frost the top of each cupcake with the strawberry cream cheese frosting mixture.  Then, place a fresh strawberry slice on top for garnish.  Lastly, with a small pastry bag pipe the team's logo on strawberry slice. (I didn't do last step..)

these were hearty tasting yet really good - love how it was more bread/muffin batter consistency from scratch vs. super sweet....  Also the cream cheese frosting a hit!