Strawberry Cool Whip Frosting

My little nephew/cousin (he's actually my husband's cousin's son....so I don't know what that relationship is actually called...) just turned six - such a big kid already!  I was asked to bring cupcakes to his party and the guidance I got was that he likes chocolate and strawberries, and his favorite colors are pink and blue.  The kicker is that his little brother can't have corn products, like corn syrup or corn starch or veggie oil (if it's blended with corn oil).

My mind started spinning as to what I could make.  I decided on my favorite chocolate cupcakes and a strawberry frosting with blue sprinkles.  The cupcakes are so rich and chocolatey and are perfectly complimented by the fresh and sweet strawberry frosting.  I was worried that the strawberry frosting would taste artificial because it largely gets its flavor from a packet of strawberry jello but the addition of fresh berries really brighten it up!

The CORN-FREE recipe:

Ingredients:
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3oz package strawberry jello (not sugar free)
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened at room temperature
8 medium sized strawberries, mashed (I used a potato masher)
3-6 tablespoons powdered sugar (make sure it's Kosher for Passover which contains potato starch, or make your own by following Martha Stewarts Recipe, or just blend a few tablespoons of sugar until powdery and use immediately - the potato starch acts an an anti-clumping agent)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks using the whisk attachment (but don't over beat or it will start to separate and turn into butter and whey).  Stir in vanilla extract and strawberry jello.  Transfer to a medium bowl.

2.  In the bowl of the stand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Slowly add whipped cream one heaping spoonful at a time, mixing slowly until all the cream is incorporated.  Add the mashed strawberries.

3.  Add powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time until the desired sweetness and consistency is reached.


The REGULAR recipe:

Ingredients:
2 8oz packages cool whip, or 2 cups of heavy whipping cream whipped to stiff peaks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3oz package strawberry jello (not sugar free)
1 8oz package cream cheese
8 medium sized strawberries, mashed (I used a potato masher)
3-6 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions:

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk the cool whip, vanilla, and jello together.

2.  In the bowl of the stand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Slowly add whipped cream one heaping spoonful at a time, mixing slowly until all the cream is incorporated.  Add the mashed strawberries.

3.  Add powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time until the desired sweetness and consistency is reached.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

I went to a family picnic and wanted to bring a small dessert/snack.  When I asked my husband what kind of treat he wanted, he eagerly responded with "something with cheesecake!" Which brought me to one of my favorite lunchbox snacks, cheesecake stuffed strawberries.  When I toss them in my lunch, they're usually prepared without much ado.  But for this gathering, I wanted them to be a bit more presentable and special looking.

These turned out fantastic, and were eaten up almost immediately.  I made 4 dozen, but only 3 dozen made it out the door with me.  The strawberries were flavorful and juicy and were amazing with the creamy cheesecake middle which was so smooth, rich, and decadent.  The white chocolate stands added a nice sweetness and texture as did the graham cracker crumbs on top. 

These are super easy to make and seem really impressive when brought to a party.  They will continue to make an appearance in my lunchbox and at parties.

 yields 48 strawberries

Ingredients
48 strawberries, about 2 pounds
1/4 cup or so chocolate, I used white
1 block cream cheese, 8 ounces, room temp
6-8 tablespoons sifted powdered sugar - more or less, depending on desired sweetness
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 - 1 teaspoon almond extract, to taste
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped, optional
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs, maybe a little more

Directions
 1. Wash berries and let dry completely. Cut of stems, hull the berries, and slice off just the tip of the berry. Stand the berries on end on a paper towel to pull some moisture away from the cut surface.

 

2. Melt chocolate by microwaving for 20 seconds on 50% power, stirring, and repeating until smooth. Dip just the tips of the berries into the chocolate and place on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to help the chocolate set.

3. While chocolate is setting , make the cheesecake filling. In a small bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, extracts, and vanilla bean (if using).  Place into a pastry bag fitted with a narrow tip to fill the berries.


4. Put graham cracker crumbs into a small bowl.

5. Fill strawberries to the top, so that it overfills just a little bit. Dip the top into the graham cracker crumbs. Repeat.

Refrigerate until serving.

Banana Split Cupcakes

Difficult: No
Time consuming: this was a 2 day cupcake for me, but no individual part took too long

Whenever given the option at an ice cream shop, I almost always opt for something predominantly chocolate.  Or covered in fudge.  Or blended with chocolate milk and more chocolate fudge.  I rarely ever go for a fruity flavor.  Unless is Graeter's Black Raspberry Chip, but that's about the only exception.

But when I saw these Banana Split Cupcakes on Annie's Eats, I knew I had to make them (and then donate them to the Lent fish fry as a courtesy to my waistline).  The banana cake is so moist and is the perfect vehicle for the strawberry and pineapple filling.  Topped with a whipped cream frosting, ganache, sprinkles, and a cherry, and that's as close to an ice cream banana split as you're gonna get.

The recipe yielded 33 cupcakes for me, but I only wanted to bring 24 cupcakes to church, since my husband really like the cake and wanted to take it plain as "muffins" to work for breakfast.

The Recipe:

yields 33 cupcakes

Ingredients

Banana cupcake
2½ cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon. salt
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ cups sugar
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk (If you don't have buttermilk on hand, use: 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in a glass measuring cup, then filled to the 1 cup line with milk, +2 tablespoons milk)
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana (for me, this was from 3½ bananas)

 Strawberry Pineapple Filling
10 ounces of diced, hulled strawberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, thaw first)
1½ tablespoons powdered sugar
8 ounces canned, crushed pineapple (fresh would be better if you have it, but canned is fine)

Whipped Cream Frosting
12 ounces heavy cream
1½ teaspoons gelatin, + 6 teaspoons cold water
3/8 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ganache Topping**
 6 ounces chocolate (I used milk chocolate chips, but bittersweet chips or chopped bar chocolate is fine too)
2 ounces heavy cream
1 teaspoon corn syrup

*Note: the ganache I used had equal parts cream to chocolate (6 ounces cream, 6 ounces chocolate), but I found that it never really "set up" - even after cooling to room temperature, then an hour in the freezer, which made a kind of runny mess on my cupcakes.  So the ingredients above reflect ganache for a "hard glaze."  Also, the ganache I had made way too much, so hopefully I've adjusted the ingredients enough so that you can top the cupcakes (if not, let me know in the comments and I can try to fix it)

Garnish
marashino cherries
rainbow jimmies

Directions

Make the cupcakes
1.   Line cupake pan with liners, set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs 1 at a time, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl between every egg or 2.  Mix in the mashed bananas.

3.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the stand mixer, and mix until just incorporated.  Then add half of the buttermilk.  Mix.  Then another 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix.  Then the rest of the buttermilk, mix.  Finally, add the remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

4.  Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full, pop into the oven, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees, and bake for 20 minutes.  The cupcakes should spring back lightly when touched, and a toothpick inserted should come out with only a few moist crumbs.  Let cool a few minute in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the filling
5. Macerate the chopped strawberries with the powdered sugar for at least a half hour.  Strain berries from liquid.  Strain pineapple from juices.  Set both aside.

Make the frosting
6.  Combine the gelatin and water in a small, microwave safe bowl.  Set aside for 3 minutes...

7.  In the meantime, in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream and powedered sugar to soft peaks (do not over beat, you will end up with butter!)

8.  Back to the gelatin - microwave for 30 seconds so that it's completely liquidy and all the gelatin dissolved.  Let cool (but don't let it become solid).  With the mixer running on low, add the liquid gelatin to the cream, increase mixer speed, and beat until stiff peaks form.  Mix in vanilla.

Make the ganache
9.  Put the chocolate in a small bowl, set aside.

10.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it simmers, then pour over chocolate.  Let sit for a few minutes, then whisk to combine.  Add corn syrup, whisk to combine, and let sit so that it's cool but not too thick.

Assemble the cupcakes
9. Core out the middle of the cupcakes (using a cupcake plunge or the cone method), save the cake scraps.  Fill the cupcakes with scant a teaspoon of each strawberry and pineapple, then top with a portion of the cake from the core.


10.  Pipe the whipped topping on the cake (I used a large Wilton round tip).  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Top with a spoonful of ganache.  Before the ganache sets, sprinkle with jimmies and garnish with a marashino cherry.




Cupcake recipe adapted from Annie's Eats
Ganache info from The Kitchn

Cassata Cupcakes

   
Difficulty level: Medium
Time consuming: Yeah.

 Have you ever heard of a cassata cake?  Most people think of the typical, Italian styled cake, which is usually a dense cake (like pound cake) layered with strawberries and ricotta cheese.  If you have had a Cleveland-style cassata cake, you are lucky.  In Cleveland, the cassata cake is a heavenly combination of white cake, macerated strawberries, custard, and whipped cream, usually in a layered form.

The first time I made this recipe, I had been craving cassata cake for awhile.  I wanted to share this with the Special Ed team at school but couldn't find any cassata cupcake recipes out there, so I had to forge my own way.  The positive feedback about the finished product was overwhelming - they were a huge hit!

I started by searching for a yellow cake with real strawberry pieces in it.  There are a lot of strawberry cakes out there, but not so much for a cake with strawberries.  I found this recipe from Annie's Eats and it was exactly what I had hoped for.

This was a two day baking project for me.  On the first day, I baked the cupcake and prepared the custard.  Doing these ahead of time are smart because the cupcakes can cool completely and the pastry cream can set overnight.  The second day I made the frosting and assembled the cupcakes.

The first time I made this, I made some substitutions from Annie's original recipe since I did not have cake flour or buttermilk on hand.  I also did not go with her frosting since I was working from my own inspirations.  This is the cake I made when I learned that using a 12-cup muffin pan does not cook the middle two cupcakes in my oven.  The cakes baked okay and the strawberries stayed suspended in the batter, but the tops definitely went concave on me (a problem I fixed the second time I made these, which is the recipe I'm sharing below)

After they cooled, I scooped out the middles using a paring knife.  I have since then bought an apple corer and use that to core the middles of my cupcakes, it's way easier, and also cheaper than a cupcake plunger.

I adapted my grandma's custard recipe (which I think was from Betty Crocker...) and let that set overnight.  The next day I filled the cupcakes* (I would not recommend doing this more than a day before serving, but day of is better if you've got the time - you don't want them getting soggy!) and frosted them.

My plan was to pipe whip cream on top instead of frosting, but what I learned the hard way is that whip cream melts if it's at room temperature for more than 5 minutes.  After a quick call to my mom and some googling, I found a stabilized whip cream frosting recipe that I tinkered with and piped beautifully with no signs of melting.

Garnished with a sliced strawberry and some red jimmies and they were fantastic.  The special ed team gobbled them up.  I will definitely make these again.

*I had a decent amount of extra custard so I whipped up some puff pastry (just the basic recipe that comes with the Wilton cookie gun/press) and ganache and made eclairs.  The special ed team also got to enjoy these treats as well.  And I couldn't let a meeting go by without bringing something with chocolate, right?

Yield: about 18-20 regular sized cupcakes or 60-70 mini cupcakes

Ingredients

Custard (halve this recipe if you do not want extra custard)
 1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 t salt
3 T cornstarch or 6 T of flour
12 oz evaporated milk (preferably not low or fat free)
4 oz of milk (whatever's in the fridge - skim, 2%...) (If you halve the recipe, just use 8 oz evaporated milk and omit this milk)
4 egg yolks
2 t vanilla
5 T room temperature butter, cubed

Cake

2 ½ cups cake flour or 2 cups and 2T all purpose flour (I recommend cake flour if you've got it as it yields a finer textured crumb)

3/4 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, mix and let sit for 5 minutes 1/4 c milk and 1/4T lemon juice or white vinegar - the mixture will look curdled)
1 1/2  oz veggie/canola/etc oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups chopped strawberries (I diced mine into approx 1/4" cubes, and set on a paper towel to blot out some of the moisture before I added to my batter; - you can use frozen berries, but it's super important to blot them)

Frosting (*depending on how generous you are with frosting, you can halve this recipe)
2 eight ounce tubs whipped topping (like cool whip)
1 eight ounce package cream cheese
3-5 T powdered sugar
2 t vanilla extract

Directions

1.  Prepare custard:  In a small sauce pan, mix/whisk together sugar, salt, cornstarch.  Stir in milks.

2. In a small bowl, mix egg yolks together.  Set aside.

3. Cook milk mixture over medium low heat, stirring until it boils.  Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.

4. Temper the eggs with a small amount of milk mixture.  Once eggs are tempered, add to saucepan and bring to a boil, let boil approx 1 minute.

5.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter.

6.  Cover surface with saran wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate.

7.  Prepare the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. Sift flour, salt and baking soda into a medium bowl. Set aside.

8.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until just combined. Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla; beat until combined. Add half the flour mixture, stir until incorporated, then add the remaining flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in chopped strawberries.

9. Fill cupcake wells 1/2 to 2/3 full with batter.

• Bake regular sized cupcakes for 20 minutes, rotating pans halfway through cooking, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Baking can take up to 30 minutes, depending on your oven.
• Bake mini cupcakes for 13-14 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• **Darker pans will bake faster, so keep an eye on your cupcakes.

10. Cool completely on a wire rack. (This is a good time to make the frosting - recipe below!)

11.  Prepare frosting: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth, then add whipped topping.  Mix until contents seem well mixed.

12.  Add powdered sugar (sifted) until frosting becomes stiff.  This may take several minutes.  Add vanilla and mix to incorporate.

13.  Back to the cupcakes: Using a paring knife, apple corer, or cupcake plunger, create the hole to fill your cupcake - do not go all the way down to the paper liner.  Place prepared custard into a piping bag and fill the cupcakes.

14. Prepare frosting.  Fill a piping bag or gallon sized ziplock bag (either cut off the corner or fit with a large piping tip) with frosting.  Pipe on top of cupcakes.

15.  Garnish with a slice of strawberry and a light sprinkling of red jimmies.

These are a lot of work but they are 100% worth the effort.

**Because these cupcakes turn out soooo moist, some may separate from the paper liners.  If you prefer not to serve less than pretty cupcakes (like me), you can crumble the ugly cakes and mix with extra frosting and make pretty strawberry shortcake cake pops.  Yum!!

Cake recipe adapted from Annie's Eats.