Strawberry Cupcakes

Directions

• STRAWBERRY COULIS
• Heat a saucepan with 1/4 cup water. Add in the diced strawberry and sugar. Let this cook for 15-20 minutes on medium-high flame till most of the water has evaporated and it looks thick and jammy. Set aside to cool. You could also strain the mixture to remove the seeds, but this is optional.
• CUPCAKES
• Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a muffin tray and set aside to be used later.
• In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and well creamed. Add in the eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and combine. Set aside.
• In a seperate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients into the wet in batches, mixing with a spatula. Slowly add in the lemon juice and milk until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Scoop 2 tbsp worth of batter / until they are 2/3 full into each muffin liner. Tap the tray a couple of times to remove the air bubbles and till the top looks even. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool completely before filling with the coulis and frosting.
  
• VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
• In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for about a minute until it looks thick and creamy. Add in the icing sugar, heavy cream and vanilla extract and beat for an additional two minutes. At this point, you could also add in any colour if required.
• Spoon into a piping bag and refrigerate until ready to use.
• ASSEMBLY
• Cut a circular disk at the centre top of the cupcake, around 2cm dia. Remove an inch worth of cake from the centre (similar to a cylinder) leaving the bottom of the cake intact. Fill with the strawberry coulis and pipe the frosting on top of the cupcake, thereby also covering the hole.