Strawberry Easter Cupcakes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #99YourEaster #DoingThe99 #CollectiveBias

Welcome to my first Easter post! There will be many more to come, so hold onto your hats. Easter is one of my favorite holidays (let’s be honest, they’re all my favorite) because it’s close to my birthday and it’s when everything begins to thaw and bloom. Every Easter growing up we held our traditional egg hunt with all six of my siblings, and the best were the ones that kept on giving. Like weeks or even months later you’re cleaning a couch and find an egg hidden deep in it’s crevices that no one caught. Or when you’re on a family road trip not long after, and it’s so long that by the end everyone is so restless they start going a little crazy and people end up with Cadbury eggs smashed into their hair. True story. Funny how these are my fondest Easter memories haha!

Today’s recipe is one of those that would be great as a family bonding activity. As an alternative to egg decorating, you can have a strawberry decorating party! These Easter egg inspired strawberries were so fun and easy, and best of all budget-friendly. Whereas I consider $2.50 a great price for strawberries around my parts, at 99 Cents Only I found them for…you guessed it, 99 cents. And if you take a look at my photos, everything from the doilies to the sugar, flour, vanilla, cupcake liners, milk, etc…all also from the 99. One day I will compare these cupcakes to some other ones to see how much money I am saving. I actually did not mean for these cupcakes to have so many steps, but I was so impressed with 99 Cents Only’s baking and produce supply that I wanted to try making a from-scratch recipe using only their products. But they also sell cake mixes and frostings, so if you’re in a rush I recommend those, though I do love this cake recipe.

I talked about 99 Cents Only once before on my blog, but I’m excited to say that they’ve chosen me to be one of their ambassadors over the next few months, so you will be seeing them a lot more! Regardless of me being an ambassador or not, the 99 is one of my favorite grocery stores, so just know that all of my overexcitement about them is not contrived. I always spend double the time I intend to there because there are always new and exciting products to find, and they have so many brands I love for amazing prices. On my last visit I found Haribo extra sour spaghetti, which is my hubby’s favorite candy and hard to find here, and was so excited to bring it home to him. The funny thing is that he was in Germany at the time and brought back a packet of some other sour Haribo candy, but it remains unopened while the spaghetti is nearly gone. The 99 wins again.

What are your favorite things to 99?? Find more budget-friendly inspo and ideas HERE, as well as a location finder so you can know where your nearest store is!

Strawberry Easter Cupcakes
Makes about 1 dozen cupcakes

Cupcakes:

• 1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp almond extract
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• strawberry jam

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 large eggs)
• 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• pinch salt
• strawberry jam

Strawberries:

• 1 pint medium strawberries
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp + 1 tsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• food coloring

Directions:

For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 325F and prep a cupcake pan with liners.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until very light and fluffy. While beating on low, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extract and combine.

In 3 parts alternate mixing the dry ingredients and buttermilk into the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Scoop batter into cupcake liners, making them 3/4 full. Bake 20-30 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Let cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes, then cool completely on a rack. Clean your electric mixing bowl thoroughly before making the frosting.

For the frosting:
Fill a medium saucepan with 1-1/2-2 inches of water and bring to a simmer on your stove top. Place egg whites and sugar in the bowl of your electric mixer and set over your simmering water. Whisk the egg whites continuously until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture reaches 160F. Immediately remove the bowl from heat and attach to your electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk on med-high until the meringue reaches stiff peaks and the bowl is cooled down. Beat in the vanilla, then beat in the butter 1-2 tablespoons at a time, waiting until incorporated after each addition. Add a pinch of salt and continue beating until the frosting is smooth.

Strawberries:
Rinse and pat dry your strawberries. In a small mixing bowl whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. If it isn’t runny enough to fall from the whisk then add more milk a tiny bit at a time until just smooth. You want the icing to be thick so that it is opaque. Separate into separate bowls for as many colors as you want to make and add food coloring to each as desired. Cover the ones you’re not using right away with a damp towel so that they don’t dry out.

Prep a piece of parchment paper to rest your strawberries on. Dip them one by one into icing and place on the parchment paper to dry. I moved each strawberry 2-3 times so that icing wouldn’t pool on the bottom. Once the icing sets up a bit pipe easter egg decorations onto them and then let them dry fully.

To Assemble:
Use a small paring knife to core the cupcakes and spoon about 1-1/2 tsp of strawberry jam in. Prep a pastry bag and make two stripes up the sides with strawberry jam. Add the frosting and pipe onto your cupcakes. Top with strawberries just before serving. The strawberries are best consumed within the day.

Cupcake recipe adapted from Ina.