PINK STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES
www.RecipeGirl.com
2¼ cups cake flour
1½ cups granulated sugar
2¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt1
½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup pureed frozen strawberries (about ¼ of a 1 lb. bag)
4 large egg whites
1/3 cup milk
several drops of red/pink food coloring or gel paste
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 18 cupcake pan with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside.
3. In a large bowl with electric mixer, blend butter with strawberry puree. Add flour mixture and blend until light and fluffy (batter will be very thick).
4. In another bowl, whisk together egg whites, milk and dye. Add whites in three parts to the batter mixture, mixing only until incorporated after each addition.
5. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake 18 to 22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
Yield: About 18 cupcakes
Cooking Tips *Use fresh strawberries if you wish, but put them in the freezer first to draw the moisture out of them, and then puree them as you would bagged frozen strawberries.**I used Wedding Cupcake Buttercream tinted with pink gel paste to ice these cupcakes.