Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins

Hey folks, I hope you had a great weekend! I was able to unplug from the interwebs and enjoyed a relaxing day at the lake with the husband on Saturday. And on Sunday I ventured to the Great NY State Fair with my sister-in-law, her 12-year old daughter and a friend. We had a great time and may have spent way too many hours there that my feet still hurt.

On the blog front, things have been clearly slow. I have not moved yet thanks to one big unforeseen complication that has delayed the process and we are playing the waiting game. Let me explain. When I bought my domain name (blahnikbaker.com) I did it through Google who registered it with GoDaddy.com. This was eight months ago. So when the move was being talked about a few weeks ago, I told Jessica (the website designer) that I have a registered domain already and it is through Godaddy. Based on that, she scheduled the move to happen over the weekend, needing only two days to have everything taken care of and I would be up and running by Monday with a new design.

But of course that didn't happen, we didn't even get to start the move. Apparently the first step of these things is to transfer your domain name to your new host. Well turns out Google had switched my registration from Godaddy to some other company that is the slowest in the world in giving you the information you need to move your domain name. It's not available on their website and you have to contact their mighty slow customer service and wait for an approval to transfer your domain registration which will take up to 5-7 business days. So here we are still waiting on them.  

Lesson learned: Research domain registrations before taking the plunge. If you have already taken the plunge, reassess the next time you are up for renewal. People seem to love Godaddy, and I would suggest you register your domain yourself with them and not go through Google or anyone else that might complicate your life in the future. If you would like to know where not to register your domain, email me.

End of rant!

With that, there are these brown butter blueberry muffins we must attend to! By now you should know my love for brown butter (you don't?? I thought we were friends. See here and here). As we are saying goodbye to August and the last week of summer, fresh berries at the farmers market will be a thing of the past soon. So here is to enjoying blueberries before they are out of season! These brown butter muffins are a great morning pick-me-upper and an easy to-go breakfast. They are moist and as always the brown butter provides a deep flavor and aroma that only enhances the taste buds. If you are one of those that dislike blueberries, then make these muffins with your favorite berry. Just hurry before the berries go!

Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins
Adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
For topping:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with liners.
To brown butter: In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk butter constantly and cook down until brown bits appear in the pan. Remove from heat.
In a small bowl, combine milk, egg, yolk and vanilla extract. Add the brown butter and whisk to combine.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add wet ingredients all at once and stir gently to combine. Fold in the blueberries. Be careful not to over-mix.
Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin cups.
Make topping by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl. Rub together until crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let muffins cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm.

Peach Blueberry Bourbon Cake

 Goodbyes

They stink.

This weekend, I had the endearing task of saying goodbye. One of my dearest girlfriends is moving to San Diego with my (her) baby! She graduated with her PhD two weeks ago and landed a dream job on that side of the country. However, we’ve seen each other almost every day for the past few years and I don’t even know what I am going to do without her. To say I will miss her is an understatement. But I am extremely happy for her and can't wait to visit already.  

On the bright side, while we were cleaning out her apartment this week, I inherited the contents of her liqueur cabinet. Her quality bourbon had to be put into good use before she left. And because I was floating in fresh peaches and blueberries, this cake happened. I don't know if this is a cake or an open pie or even a cobbler. It resembles all the above.

But what I do know is that it is very good. A buttery pastry dough is filled with fresh peaches and blueberries macerated with lemon juice and bourbon. It's baked in a unique way and that's what drew me to the recipe in the first place. The pastry dough is made in a food processor and pressed in a springform pan which is then filled with the fruit filling. The outside tastes like cake and the inside is gooey like a pie. It's bursting with summer freshness so make this before the summer berries and fruits go away.

Peach Blueberry Cake

Barely adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients

For crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), cold and cut into cubes 

2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For filling:

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

5 peaches, cut into 8 pieces each

2 cups blueberries

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1-2 tablespoons bourbon (to taste)

Directions

To make the crust: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the dry ingredients by pulsing for a minute. Add in butter cubes slowly and pulse until the mixture is coarse, forming small pea-sized bits. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Pulse until dough comes together into a bowl. Form dough into a ball and transfer to a 9-inch springform pan. Spread dough evenly up the sides of the pan and the bottom. Press down with your fingers or a flat bottomed cup. Chill in fridge for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling. 

For filling: In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour and tapioca. Add in the peaches, blueberries, lemon juice and bourbon. Gently mix to combine and coat the fruit. Pour the filling into the prepared dough, making sure it is evenly spread out. Be careful not to add extra liquid into the dough. 

Cover the springform pan loosely with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake until filling is bubbling and crust is golden, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Let cake cool in pan for at least 20 minutes before carefully removing the sides of the pan.  Let cool until warm before cutting. It's best served warm and with ice cream!

Notes:

- The filling was a little runny after baking so I would suggest letting the filling sit for 10-15 minutes before pouring into pastry dough. The tapioca will have time to work its magic.

S'mores Macarons

Hey guys! I'm still out of town for a wedding but I had to pop in to share with you these s'mores macarons. Just in time for National S'mores Day! Yes, there is a whole day dedicated to celebrating s'mores. I won't complain considering my love for them :)

These macarons were a product of my s'more addiction a few weeks ago that lead to these s'more cookie bars. You know I love macarons (here and here) but they are so finicking that I am making them less now. But these were a success on the first try and the second!

I made graham cracker macarons and filled them with marshmallow creme and chocolate frosting. I may have over piped the chocolate frosting and marshmallow filling (sorry but not sorry).  I loved how puffy these little sandwiches turned out. They were perfectly crunchy and sweet and they tasted just like a traditional s'more! If you need a twist on the traditional s'more, then you need to try these. They make for a pretty display too at any summer event :)

I hope you all have a great weekend!!


S'more Macarons
Yield: 30 macarons
(Inspired by Chocolate & Carrots)

Ingredients:
3 egg whites
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup graham cracker crust
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup almond meal

Marshmallow frosting

1/2 cup powdered confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup Marshmallow Fluff (~half of the 7.5oz jar)

Chocolate frosting

Directions:

Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. I used a 1½-inch round cookie cutter to draw circles on the parchment paper and flipped the paper (drawing side down).

Preheat oven to 280 degrees and prepare a pastry bag with a round tip. I used Wilton 2A.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and sugar. Whip on medium-high speed until stiff peaks forms, about 5-7 minutes. 

Using a food processor, pulse the powdered sugar, almond flour and graham cracker crust into fine powder. Sift several times until there is less than 2 tablespoon of almond bits left.

Add the dry ingredients to the meringue and fold with a rubber spatula. Gently fold to deflate the meringue by pressing against the side of bowl and scooping from bottom until batter is smooth and shiny; about 20-25 folds. To check consistency, drop a spoonful of batter and it should have a peak that quickly relaxes back into the batter. Start checking the batter after 20 folds.

Transfer batter into pastry bag and pipe the batter into the pre-traced circles on the baking sheet.  Tap baking sheet hard on counter to release any air bubbles trapped in the batter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until hard and slightly golden, rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking time. Cool completely on cookie sheets before peeling from the parchment.


For the Marshmallow frosting

 In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and icing sugar on low until combined, about 1 minute. Add vanilla and increase speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes. Add the marshmallow fluff. Use immediately. 

Cherry Coconut Popsicles

I left home at a young age when I moved to Singapore, a whole different continent and culture away from my family to complete high school. It was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do and making it away from home would have been impossible without the immediate support of some amazing girlfriends.

Girlfriends are just the best and having them (far or near) is necessary. I was extremely lucky last year to have eight wonderful girls stand up with me as I was getting hitched. They traveled from Virginia, California, the Netherlands, Minnesota, Indiana, Sierra Leone and of course NY. So lucky to have them in my life!!

And this is why I am so happy to be heading out of town today to stand by my adopted 'baby sister' as she gets married this weekend! My girlfriend's sister is tying the knot and I'm super excited to be a part of her special day. It's also the first wedding in which I'm a bridesmaid. Remember the bridal shower we hosted? And I baked some cupcakes? Eeeep, tomorrow is our spa day with the bride and Friday is time for some last minute decoration prep, rehearsal and Saturday is the big day. Can't wait!

Ok these popsicles, I guess we should talk about them right? We had a heat wave a few weeks ago, hitting record heat in Central NY and in my need to cool down these popsicles happened. Twice. I didn't want to share them because the pictures are not that great...not a fan of popsicle picture-taking but the recipe is so simple and amazing I had to get over myself and share with you!!

If you don't already know this, I have a thing for coconut. Coconut flakes, coconut water and coconut milk are a staple in my pantry. It's not my fault, I was born in the tropics (at least, that's my reasoning). These popsicles are made with fresh cherries, the new Chobani coconut greek yogurt flavor and toasted coconut flakes (for added pizzazz).

They are simply creamy and refreshing! You have to try them before the summer is over. Cherries and coconut pair very well together and I am surprised this is my first encounter of their union.

As you can see I made these twice using the same ingredients. In one, I pureed the yogurt and cherries and in the other I kept them separate. Both taste amazing so do as you please!

Cherry Coconut Popsicles
Makes 4 popsicles

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (or to taste)
2 (6 ounces each) 2% Chobani Coconut Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons sweetened coconut flakes, toasted

Directions:
A)
Place the cherries in the bowl of a food processor (or blender) and puree until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend for another minute.

Pour the cherry puree into each popsicle mold. Insert a popsicle stick in the middle or top with popsicle mold cover if available. Freeze for at least 6-8 hours, preferably overnight. Enjoy!

B)
Puree the cherries and sugar in a food processor until smooth. In a separate small bowl, mix the yogurt and coconut flakes until combined.

Spoon the cherry puree into the bottom of each popsicle mold. Top with dollops of yogurt blend. Insert a popsicle stick and freeze for at least 6-8 hours.

S'more Cookie Bars

Do you ever get fixated on one thing? Like an intense craving for something and that's all you can think about for days? This happened to me recently and the result were these s'more cookie bars. 

I've been craving s'mores since two weeks ago when we visited my in-laws at their camping site for a day. The kids put together a fire pit and there was roasting of marshmallows and making of good ole s'mores. But unfortunately for me on that day, I was fasting and was unable to indulge in the festivities. Bummer right? That's how my fixation with s'mores started and last weekend I settled the score with these bars and boy just looking at them satisfied my s'more craving.

This is an incredibly quick and easy recipe to make. You start with a graham cracker cookie dough that is topped with a layer of  marshmallow creme (or fluff). Top that with hershey chocolate squares and then add a layer of mini marshmallows. Finally, top with the remaining graham cracker dough. Oh and sprinkle some chocolate chips on top too just because you can never have too much chocolate. Such goodness my friends!

You get a soft, chewy graham cracker cookie bar that is filled with ooey gooey melted chocolate and marshmallow and is everything a s'more should be! A lot better in my opinion, but you can be your own judge. Since I am not a fan of camping, I got my campfire treat in my living room without the dragon flies!! If it wasn't so hot outside, I would have turned on the fireplace to set the mood :) (Hmmm, I just might make this again in the winter!)

Whether you are heading up to camp or just a family BBQ, these will be a great hit so bring them along. Just try not to taste them before the party starts because I can't promise how many might make it! 

S'more Cookie Bars
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 cup Graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
7 ounces jar of Marshmallow Creme (Marshmallow fluff)
6 (1.55 oz Bars) Hershey's Chocolate bars, unwrapped and cut in squares
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 x 8" square baking pan with baking spray and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder until just combined.
Divide the dough in half and spread half at the bottom of the pan. Smooth with a rubber spatula. Evenly spread the marshmallow creme over the dough and smooth. Place chocolate squares on top of marshmallow creme. Top chocolate with the cup of mini marshmallows. Top with the remaining half of the dough. Spread with a rubber spatula. It is OK if you can still see the marshmallows. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the cookie dough.
Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow cookie bars to cool COMPLETELY in pan before cutting. Otherwise you may end up with some oozy marshmallows (it's not the end of the world).

Cherry Hand Pies

Hello friends!! I made pie crust again and filled it with cherries to make these scrumptious cherry hand pies :)

Remember how I said I was scared of making pie crusts? My first two attempts last year were total disasters so I've stayed away from pies since. But after this strawberry tart, I decided to give it another try. This time around, I went with hand pies because they transport easily and the hubby and I were planning on a picnic at the lake.

If you are looking for a great pie crust recipe, I found the one. I love this recipe because it's only four ingredients; flour, sugar, salt and butter and it makes a flaky buttery crust each time. What is key in the process is keeping your butter chilled and using iced cold water. I used a food processor to pulse the flour and butter, but you don't need to use one. Joy the Baker has a great recipe here in which all you need are your two hands. I love using the food processor and it has made this daunting task manageable for me.

For the dough, you pulse your flour, sugar and salt together, then add your chilled cube sized butter to the mixture and pulse a few more times until the mixture is coarse and corn meal looking. Be very careful not to over work the mixture because you will warm up the butter. If you do, chill for a few minutes. Add ice cold water and pulse for a few more rounds until the dough comes together. And there you go, you have dough that would make a flaky pie crust once chilled and baked!

These cherry hand pies have a flaky, buttery crust on the outside and a sweet cherry filling on the inside. You can control how sweet the filling is by increasing or decreasing the amount of sugar. I used less than recommended (~1/3 cup) because I like things to be less sweet and it was perfect for me.

Making pie crust is getting easier and I am taking baby steps towards a full blown pie. You just might see one pretty soon :)


Cherry Hand Pies
Adapted from bon appetit
Makes 1 pie crust or about 6 hand pies 
 
Ingredients
For Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

For filling:
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted
2/3 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons raw sugar

Directions:
To prepare dough:
Prepare 1/4 cup ice cold water and keep in fridge. In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar and salt.  Add in half of the butter and pulse for 30 seconds. Add in the rest of butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add 1/4 cup water (one tablespoon at a time) and pulse until dough comes together in clumps. If dry, add a little bit more water (1 teaspoon at a time). Remove dough from processor and form into a square. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 2 hours. The dough can be made up to 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Let stand at room temperature 15-30 minutes before rolling out. 

To prepare filling:
In a small bowl, stir the cornstarch and 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water until dissolved. In a large saucepan set over medium heat, combine the cherries, sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Cook stirring occasionally for 5 minutes until the juices are released from the cherries. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. You will have more filling than you need for the pies.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a large rectangle (about 18 x 15'). Use a sharp knife and cut out 6x5" rectangles; about 6 to 7.

Assembly:
Whisk egg white and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Working with one rectangle at a time, brush the edges with egg wash and fill with 2-3 tablespoons of cherry filling on one side. Fold dough over filling making sure the edges meet. Use a fork to crimp the edges and seal the pie. Cut a few slits on top of pie to vent. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Brush the top of pies with egg wash and then sprinkle with raw sugar. Chill the pies for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the pies until the tops and bottoms are lightly browned, about 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool completely on baking sheet. Enjoy. Store leftovers at room temperature.

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

A beautiful 3-layered tart with a buttery crust and a creamy lemon mascarpone filling that is topped with fresh strawberries.

I accomplished two things this weekend; I woke up before 11am and made pie crust from scratch. 

I made my first trip of the season to our local farmer's market which in itself isn't a big deal. But see, I almost never leave my house before noon on the weekends. Unless if I really really have to or love someone dearly. My friends know this... you don't call or make plans with Z before noon (I know it wont last long, but I don't have kids yet and I plan to enjoy this luxury/laziness while I can). But I love the farmer's market and I really wanted some fresh fruits and vegetables so I ventured out and I am so happy I did. I got lots of strawberries (duh!), peaches, corn, peppers, tomatoes and plenty more. I'll be waking up for more farmer's market trips this summer to get some fresh produce and support our local farmers.

When deciding what to make with my strawberries, I thought of this tart I first saw by Kelly Bakes, a few months ago. The only problem about it was that, I don't do pies or tarts because I can't make pie crusts from scratch. I tried it once last fall and it was an epic fail so I stayed away from pies. But I realized it's about time I face my fear. And I was pleasantly surprised that this crust turned out perfectly (or I got lucky, but I'm going to go with the first here!). My second accomplishment of the weekend!

For the filling, I combined honey, lemon juice and lemon zest with mascarpone cheese which gives a very creamy filling that you can consume on its own. But don't, you have to fill your lovely golden buttery crust with it (isn't it just so beautiful?). It will be hard, trust me but once you can muster the will power to fill the crust, chill it for a few minutes, and prepare the strawberries. I simply mixed the strawberries with sugar and let it sit for 20 minutes to make it sweeter. In retrospect, I would not have mixed the strawberries in sugar at all. It made the strawberries slightly too soft for my liking and hard to handle so next time I will just layer the fresh sliced strawberries on the mascarpone layer. Plus, that would make for more beautiful pictures!

            (Clearly, I didn't chill for the recommended two hours before serving. I suggest you do!)

This pie is the perfect combination of my favorite summer flavors; strawberry and lemon, adding a tangy mascarpone layer to create the ultimate tart. It takes a few hours to make, mostly waiting time, but it is so worth the time and you will not be disappointed. It will amaze guests at any 4th of July gathering, so do try it! If you like, you could add some blueberries for a full red, white and blue effect.


Strawberry Mascarpone Tart
Inspired by Kelly Bakes. Crust adapted from here

Ingredients
For the Tart Crust:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
3 tablespoons iced water
1 large egg yolk

For Filling:
2 cups mascarpone cheese1/3 cup honey (or up to 1/2 cup if you want it sweeter)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 - 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced lengthwise
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions
For Tart Crust:
In a food processor, pulse together the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt for 30 seconds to combine. Add in the cold butter cubes and process using on/off turns to cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Place the bowl in the fridge for a few minutes. Whisk together the ice water and egg yolk in a small bowl. Retrieve the butter and flour mixture from the fridge and add the egg and water mixture all at once. Pulse until moist clumps forms and the dough comes together.

Gather the dough into a ball and form into a disk on a lightly floured surface. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap for 1 hour. When you are ready to roll dough, let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Unwrap dough and roll out on a floured surface. Roll to an 11-inch circle and gently transfer to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough against the sides and edges and trim excess overhang. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the crust with foil or parchment paper making sure you cover all sides. Fill the pan with pie weights, dried beans or coins. Bake crust for 15 minutes, roatte the pan and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for addition 5 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool crust in pan completely.

For the mascarpone filling:
Beat together the mascarpone and honey until creamy (You don't need an electric mixer for this, but if you do have one, beat on medium-low speed). Add lemon juice, zest and vanilla extract and beat until combined. The mixture will be creamy and glossy.

Once the crust is completely cooled, spread the mascarpone filling into the tart shell. Spread evenly. Chill while you prepare the strawberries.

Mix the strawberry and sugar in a large bowl and set aside for 20 minutes.

Top the mascarpone filling with the sliced strawberries. Arrange in a circular pattern. Chill for at least an hour, up to two hours, before serving.
 
Store any leftovers refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I have no words to describe these strawberry lemonade cupcakes. Not just because they leave you speechless and wanting for more after the first bite (which they totally do!), but because I am brain-dead (and coming from a neuroscientist-in-training this is inaccurate, but I will let it fly today because I am that exhausted).

I had two big presentations earlier this week and I spent the past week and a half just reading and reading and reading and juggling married life, family, friends and blogging with that just left me exhausted. Of course at some points my brain was resisting the urge to work leading to some serious procrastination like giant cookie bake-offs (I'll share soon), mall excursions in search of cute tea cups that were never procured and baking these perfect summer strawberry lemonade cupcakes (among other stress induced goodies) but with no time to blog about them.

Using up the rest of the strawberries from this cake, I made a light and airy lemon cake filled with fresh strawberry bites and I topped the cupcakes with fluffy whipped strawberry lemon buttercream. It is the perfect balance between sweet and tangy (I believe strawberry and lemons were made just for each other!).

These are now on top of my favorite cupcake list and will be making them again as the months get warmer. I suggest you find a friend with a pool and bring these cupcake as a bribe, along with some fresh strawberry lemonade for the perfect hot summer day pool party (ahemmm, Laura).

I am off to bake about 80 cupcakes, decorate cookies and a cake for my first bridal shower dessert table this Saturday! Because I am a procrastinator genius, I left everything to last minute. Wish me luck! I'll share the results (hopefully successful) with you next week.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

(Adapted from Martha Stewart Cakes)

Yield: 3-4 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon plus ¾ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

1 ½  cups unsalted butter (2 ½ sticks), room temperature

2 ½ cups sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 ¼ cups buttermilk, room temperature

½  cup fresh strawberry, hulled and diced finely

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350^oC. Line muffin tins with cupcake wrappers

2.     Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

3.     Combine buttermilk, vanilla extract and lemon extract. Set aside

4.     In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

5.     Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl as necessary. Mix in zest.

6.     With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 batches of buttermilk mixture and beginning and ending with flour. Mix well to combine after each addition and scrape sides of bowl as needed. Fold in the strawberries by hand using a rubber spatula. 

7.     Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling 2/3 to the top.

8.     Bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. About 20-25 minutes  

9.     Transfer pans to wire racks and let cool in pans for 2 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Strawberry Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 ½ cups sugar

6 large egg whites, room temperature

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Juice of 1 lemon

½ cup fresh strawberry puree

1. Whisk together sugar and egg whites in a heatproof mixing bowl set over (not in] a pan of simmering water. Whisk until warm and sugar is dissolved (mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingers), 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg white mixture 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue has cooled (test by feeling bottom of bowl), about 6 minutes.

3. Reduce speed to medium. Add butter, one piece at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and lemon juice.  Mix the strawberry puree into the buttercream until combined.

4. Best if used immediately or store airtight in refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes:

- Cupcake liners from Bake it Pretty

- I enjoyed these cupcakes with a fresh batch of strawberry lemonade, found here (minus the mint).