Strawberry & Lemon cupcakes

I finally got the opportunity to go to Donna Hay's store in Sydney. A friend of my aunty's was down in Sydney and my aunty took time off to take her friend around Sydney and one of the places was Bondi Beach so on the way I asked her if we could go to Donna Hay's store which is close to Bondi  for a quick look and get a novelty ornamental cooling rack from the store. We had a pit stop at Sydney Fish Market for lunch before heading to Woollahra then Bondi. It was a small boutique like store with everything so dainty,pretty & pastel-ish but very pricey. The cooling rack priced at $ 39.95 was so tiny that it could only fit a 6-7 inch cake. I obviously didn't buy it although I was very much tempted to. I got a couple of polka dot cupcake liners,Donna Hay's signature cupcake liners and Callebaut cocoa chocolate. I wanted to get a novelty item but the prices were so expensive but it was a good stop. If I was working I would be heading down to her store quite often!

I made strawberry cupcakes a couple of time and they never turned out well. They were no doubt delicious and moist but they sunk terribly in the middle and also the strawberries sunk to the bottom. So I tried the recipe a couple of times using different ways but somehow all it sunk everytime. I love the flavours tho so I had to look for another recipe with a similar ingredients.

It was a chaos at my aunt's place earlier because my aunt and I were arguing on how to frost the cupcakes. We did not have enough strawberries for garnishing so she took out a packet of cherries to top on the cupcakes,aiyoh! but I wanted the cupcakes to look more boutique baking style. Before allowing me to pipe the frosting, she wanted to use a tiny star tip nozzle to pipe the cupcakes, I refused to follow because it will definitely look kiddish. Anyway, we had a good time arguing/debating on how to decorate the cupcakes.

Strawberry & Lemon cupcakes:

Adapted from annies-eats

2 1/4 cups plain flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

zest of two medium size lemons

150g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla dusting powder

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk, at room temperature

2 tablespoon sour cream

250g strawberries, coarsely chopped

Juice of a lemon

Method

1. Place strawberries, lemon juice & 3 tablespoon of sugar in a bowl and mix until strawberries are well coated. Leave to stand for 15minutes.
2. Preheat oven at 180 C. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
3. In a bowl combine the dry ingredients, (Plain flour, baking powder & salt). Mix them with a whisk.Set aside.
4. Beat butter on medium speed until pale, & fluffy.Add the remaining sugar and vanilla dusting powder and beat until well combined.
5. Beat eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. 
6. Add half of the dry ingredients in and beat on low speed until incorporated. Then add in the all the milk,sour cream & lemon zest.Mix until smooth. Fold in the remaining dry ingredient until combined.
7. Fold the strawberry mixture with a spatula.
8. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pan,filling them to about 1/2- 2/3 full. I normally scoop a big dollop of batter into the muffin pan holes using the spoons we use for eating.
9. Bake for 20-25minutes until a toothpick/cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Check cupcakes at 20minutes, you don't want to overbake the cupcakes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Cream cheese frosting:

250g cream cheese, at room temperature

150g unsalted butter, at room temperature

165g icing sugar,sifted

1. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy.( beat at a medium speed for 5-10minutes) Then gradually add the icing sugar until well combined.

For decoration:

Strawberries, sliced into half

Lemon Slices

To Frost:

Place cheese cream frosting in a pipping bag with a plain nozzle and frost. Then decorate with a slice of strawberry & lemon.