Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes
The most amazing strawberries and cream cupcakes you’ll ever have. These vanilla cupcakes are stuffed with custard and topped with strawberry buttercream and whipped cream.
Story Behind the Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes
When I started this blog, I was mostly into baking and decorating cakes. My little cake business kept me extremely busy until I had my fifth child. With the arrival of baby number five, I became a little TOO busy to keep up with my side hustle. Eventually, I decided to scale back. In fact, just this year I have said no to all cake orders.
Even though I was decorating four to five cakes a week, I found that my creativity was stifled. Usually a customer would send me a picture of what they were envisioning and I would try to recreate it. It got to the point where my love of baking and creating was waning.
After I quit taking orders, I found that I missed piping. I decided I would try my hand at making gourmet cupcakes patterned after my favorite cupcake shop, Cravings Alisha’s Cupcakes. My creations were not only beautiful, but there were absolutely delicious. My cupcakes kept finding their way to friends birthday parties and the reviews were great.
These particular strawberries and cream cupcakes were sent to my best friend’s house for her son’s first birthday. Unfortunately, I was out of town for a funeral and couldn’t attend. I received so many texts from the people in attendance saying that they loved these cupcakes. Even my husband, who doesn’t really care for fruity desserts, has requested these on more than one occasion.
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Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 box vanilla cake mix (15.25 oz)
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 3 egg whites
- 1 whole egg
For the Custard
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 egg yolks
- dash of sea salt
For the Frosting
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- ¾ cup strawberry jam
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp milk if needed for consistency
For the Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1½ tsp unflavored gelatin
- 1 tbsp cold water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°.
- Line a cupcake pan with tulip cupcake liners. Using this type of liner will allow you to get a bigger cupcake which is easier to fill.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, buttermilk, eggs, oil, and sour cream. DO NOT ADD INGREDIENTS ON THE BACK OF THE BOX.
- Fill your tulip cupcake liners with ½ cup of cake batter.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until cake bounces back in the center.
- Cool completely before following the instructions for assembly.
For the Custard
- This needs to be made at least 1 day ahead to allow for the custard to cool and thicken in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 300°
- Crack and separate eggs (save the whites for the cake!). Whisk the eggs in a medium sized mixing bowl and set aside.
- In a saucepan, heat the 2 cups of whipping cream until it starts to bubble around the edges. DON'T LET IT BOIL.
- Once the cream starts to bubble, remove it from the heat.
- Slowly add ¼ cup of cream at a time to the eggs while whisking. Don't stop whisking. Continue to add the remaining cream until it is all combined with the eggs.
- Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps. Pour into an 8×8 pan.
- Put the 8×8 pan inside of a large 9×13 pan. Pour water into the larger pan until it comes about halfway up to the smaller pan.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes. The center will still be a little jiggly. Remove from the oven and let it come to room temperature.
- Pour the custard into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is actually touching the custard. This will help prevent a skin forming on the custard. Refrigerate overnight before using in the cupcakes.
For the Buttercream
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, whip butter until smooth.
- Add jam and half of the powdered sugar. Mix until combined.
- Add remaining powdered sugar and whip on high for 2 minutes.
- Scrape down sides of bowl and mix again until all butter and sugar is incorporated.
- If the frosting is too thick, you may add 1-2 tbsp of milk to thin it out to the consistency you desire.
For the Whipped Cream
- In a small bowl, combine cold water with gelatin. Mix with a spoon until combined. Let set for 5 minutes, or until congealed.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine whipping cream and powdered sugar.
- Mix until it starts to get thick, but not stiff.
- Microwave the gelatin mixture for 5 seconds, or until it turns liquid again. Then slowly add in the gelatin mixture while the mixer is on low and whip until stiff peaks form.
Assembling the Cupcakes
- Core the center of the cupcake out using a cupcake corer, large cake decorating tip, or a spoon. Save the cores on a plate and set aside.
- Add about 2 tbsp worth of chilled custard to the center of the cupcake. Cover with a cupcake core.
- Use a piping bag to pipe the strawberry buttercream on top.
- Top with the stabilized whipped cream and a strawberry. Refrigerate until ready to serve.