Friday, June 22, 2012

Strawberry cupcakes

So. Strawberries. As you know, we went picking. Came home with about five kilograms each trip (yes, we've made multiple trips). 

We made lots of jam, froze strawberry puree for using in yogurt and I made a giant batch of strawberry syrup, using eight cups of strawberries and yielding more than 2 liters of gorgeous pink syrup (if you haven't tried it, you must. I used this recipe and the syrup is as great in icy cold milk as it is in equally cold sparkling wine).

If you know me at all, you know I also made a cake. Well, several, actually. I made one chocolate cake with a strawberry yogurt mousse, well, actually I made three of those and another one to come this weekend. Hopefully this time around I'll get some decent photos to share.


Meanwhile, grab yourself some strawberries, a blender, a large bowl and a handful of ingredients you're bound to have on hand and make this strawberry cake from a dash of sass. First recipe I ever saw using actual strawberry puree. Plus, it's got to be the world's easiest recipe: pour everything into a bowl, mix, pour into cake pans and bake. Done. I didn't even go through the hassle of straining my strawberry puree, simply because I never do. Raspberry puree, yes, but strawberry puree? Can't be bothered.


I actually ended up making two small bundt cakes plus a batch of mini cupcakes, topped with fresh whipped cream and wild strawberries or fraises de bois from our garden. Yum. 

Oh, and I did add some red food coloring to make sure these would come out nice and pink, which they did. Perfect for a little girl's birthday party. Not that I have any girls. Hmmmmm.... 


Enjoy,
Swenja

PS: I'm actually starting to shoot in manual mode. Well, aperture priority when I'm pressed for time (and we all know that never happens... right.). Love it. Exactly why didn't I try this before?!

4 comments:

  1. Swenja! I hadn't ever thought of strawberry cupcakes, these look and sound DELISH! How did your jam turn out? I made some a few years ago with my Step-mom and was in heaven!!!

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  2. These look to die for. The colors also remind me of my favorite dessert in the world, which seemed to be ubiquitous in German restaurants every time we traveled there in my childhood: heissen Himbeereis mit Sahne. Are you familiar with that? Anyway, your beautiful cupcakes reminded me of that!

    I also am pretty new to shooting in manual. And I love it. I hung out in aperture priority for quite a while but now manual is starting to feel more natural. Although it still irritates me to have to change my settings every time a cloud scuttles past the sun! But the results are so, so worth it.

    What kind of camera are you shooting with?

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    1. Yup, sounds familiar - not modern, but nevertheless good and a childhood favorite. I'm sure little brother would love it since it involves cream...

      I have a Pentax K100d, not the newest model, and a Pentax because my SLR was (is, I keep saving it for, well, don't know) a Pentax. I love it because I rarely meet anyone who has the same camera...

      So tell me, how do you manage to adjust your settings quickly enough with the little ones? I practiced shooting in manual quite a bit on vacation, but then again, mountains don't usually move...

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  3. Die Erdbeeren hier sind echt to die for! Ich weiss gar nicht wie ich daheim jemals wieder diese popeligen Erdbeeren essen soll...?

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