A couple of weeks ago, when I found out about the Tea Time Treats challenge, a saw this recipe Karen, of Lavender and Lovage, had developed for a frozen yoghurt brand that was so simple and so packed with strawberries (my favourite fruit) that I had to put it in my to-bake list. And today I finally got the chance to make it! These cupcakes are so easy to make that, given you have all the ingredients at hand, it takes almost the same time to prepare as an industrial cake mix would – yes, sometimes I use cake mix and yes, it’s a shame, I know 😉

Recently, in an incursion into a candy shop, I discovered a strawberry candy that was simply delicious: first I thought they were made of fondant but, after reading the label, I discovered that they were made with milk powder – much more interesting! I HAD to buy it 😀 So I decided to spruce these cupcakes up a bit in order to use my little strawberry candies and that’s how it led me to my first batch of Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES

INGREDIENTS
175g self-raising flour
115g caster sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
125g frozen yoghurt, room temperature (I used full fat yoghurt, instead)
6 large fresh strawberries, finely chopped
12 small strawberries, sliced for decoration (I used the cute strawberry candies I bought)
icing made with icing sugar and a little water (I used Swiss Meringue Buttercream)

METHOD
Preheat oven to 180°C and line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases.
Put all the ingredients (except the strawberries and icing) into a mixing bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon, until the ingredients are JUST amalgamated. Add the 6 chopped strawberries and gently mix through batter.
Take an ice cream scoop and place one scoop of the cake mixture into each paper case.
Bake the cakes in the pre-heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until well risen, golden brown and firm.
Take the cakes out of the tin and allow them to cool on a wire rack.
When the cakes are cool, spoon or spread some icing over them and then arranged the 12 sliced strawberries on top, 1 strawberry per cake, in an overlapping “fan” style. Drizzle any excess icing over the strawberries and serve straight away.

NOTES: Not suitable for freezing. Store in an airtight tin for up to 4 days.
Karen got 9 cupcakes only but I managed to get 12.
Tastewise, the Swiss meringue buttercream feels much less grease-and-sugar on the tongue and for that I liked it better. But I still prefer ganache any day!