Delicious Goodness: Seriously Sumptuous Strawberries

I love strawberries. I love their sweetness. I love their juiciness.

I have been buying them. A LOT of them. They look so red, juicy and delicious that I can't resist. I spend too much time looking at them at the grocery store.

Maybe next year I will find somewhere to go pick them. Yes....

And we all know I love cupcakes. Glorious and fluffy little nuggets of goodness.

So a few weeks ago I was talking to Preston while he was at work and things had been particularly difficult that day - all around. His coworker, Bobby, had a most difficult customer that day who threatened, um, well, to kick his a$$.

Because that's the way to make friends and influence people - right?

Anyway - I asked what kind of cupcakes I could make for Bobby that would make him feel better. Quick response - STRAWBERRY.

YES!

A while back I found this delectable strawberry cupcake recipe on Pinterest. I think when I originally pinned it there were no fresh strawberries available. But it's that time now...

Pretty butter, sugar and vanilla.

Cream them.

Now, a note: she specifically says to use the PADDLE attachment - which obviously I did not do. Sigh. I'm learning though. I think the "whisk" attachment adds too much air and my cupcakes aren't as fluffy as they should be. So - if you make these cupcakes use the paddle attachment.

Take the bowl off of the stand mixer and gently fold in your strawberries (this I did correctly).

Pour your batter into the prepared cupcake liners.

Bake until delicious.

Now, onto the frosting. Swiss meringue buttercream. I was reading about it here on Sweetapolita and I felt all weak-kneed and dreamy. I was trying to think of a reason to try it. Then I reread the strawberry cupcake recipe and realized she was making swiss meringue buttercream. Dreamy deliciousness.

Start with pureed strawberries.

Quick note to everyone: do NOT put your brand new camera on the cute little tripod, point it downward to take pictures and then walk away. You might get a LENS FULL OF STRAWBERRY PUREE. Or something like that....

Next start warming your egg whites - with the candy thermometer.

Once the egg whites are at the temperature they need to be - remove them from the heat and start beating. And beating. And beating. I made the mistake of making this frosting on a humid day. Sigh. It took almost an HOUR to get the egg whites "stiff" enough to use in the frosting. But, like I said, this frosting is worth it.