09/02/2022
We love using Freeze-Dried Strawberries while baking! Use a food processor or a blender to grind the strawberries into a fine powder that can be used to add flavor and color to your favorite recipes. Our current addiction is making vanilla cupcakes with a strawberry buttercream frosting.
In the comments you will find the recipes we use for vanilla cupcakes and strawberry buttercream frosting.
Here are some tips and tricks we've learned while experimenting with adding strawberry powder to our cupcakes:
● A cupcake is greater than the sum of all its parts. While a cupcake with all-purpose flour and cheap butter will be good, using cake flour and a butter with a high fat content will make a noticeable difference. When making vanilla cupcakes, a real vanilla extract, such as Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanilla Extract, should be used in favor of an imitation.
● Different brands of butter contain different amounts of salt, so it's best to use unsalted butter and add your desired amount of salt separately.
● We like to use a combination of butter and oil. This gives the cupcakes a nice, moist texture that stays soft when refrigerated.
● Allow your ingredients to reach room temperature before you start combining them. Room temperature ingredients are able to trap air in the batter better than cold ingredients. When cooked, this air leads to light and fluffy baked goods.
● We all know the toothpick trick to check if a cupcake is finished cooking. You can also gently press the center on top of a cupcake - If the cupcake springs back up, it is done. If you leave an indent, the cupcakes need more time.
● Allow your cupcakes to cool thoroughly before you frost them - I learned this one the hard way!
● You can also add freeze-dried strawberries or strawberry powder to the cupcake batter to make strawberry cupcakes! However, I think the strawberry buttercream really shines when added to vanilla cupcakes.
