High Altitude Baking: Vanilla Cupcake with Strawberry Frosting

This cupcake may be the one. So far it is my favorite. Every time I bite into one I can’t help myself but to do the happy food dance. I think it may be the frosting that makes its so good, but the cake itself is also quite very tasty.

The cupcake is also great with a spiced honey cream frosting making it taste just like a snicker doodle cookie. I will post a recipe for that one next time I make it, so I can put up a photo.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes 1 dozen

½ cup butter, room temp

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cup flour

1/3 yogurt or sour cream

1/3 milk

½ teaspoon salt (unless you use salted butter, then leave this out, which I do)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat until incorporated. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add half dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix. Add milk and yogurt/sour cream, mix. Add remaining half of dry ingredients, mix. Tah-dah!

Fill cupcake papers 2/3 full of batter. Bake 18-20 minutes.

Strawberry Frosting

This is enough for 2 dozen, so half it or save the extra for later. Or make a tasty treat by spreading the extra frosting in between gram crakers or tea cookies. Like I said, I’m a baker by necessity. I need to bake because I like sweets and the frosted gram cracker is like the lazy-man’s cupcake.

½ cup fresh strawberries (about 3 or 4) you can use frozen too

1 cup butter, room temp (cold makes it lumpy)

pinch salt (if using unsalted butter)

3 ½ cup confectioners’ sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

Puree strawberries in a food processor. Mix sugar and butter by hand at first, then I like to switch to a hand mixer. Beat until combined. Add vanilla and strawberries. It will be dense and creamy and Oh So Good!

Cool your cakes. Hehe. And frost. I like to use a spatula and go for the homemade look. If you swirl it around then it looks a little like a rose (if you use your imagination)

Enjoy!