Preparation for Christmas - Pt 1

At Compass we had a secret santa Christmas morning tea thing, so we were all given a name to buy a present for and also asked to bring something to share for the morning tea. So Jess and I decided we should make two things to bring. Well, I should make them and she should help! So the first thing that we made were cupcakes which I altered quite a lot from the recipe and they turned out very well! They're lovely and summery and they were a hit! All gone in about 20 minutes, although the colour of the actual cupcakes was a bit dull, maybe some red food colouring wouldn't go amiss! The original recipe was from Love and Olive Oil, but I think especially my icing recipe worked a lot better because it didn't separate at all. :)

PS: Yay I finally make them again (in miniature) so I have photos! But strawberries are now out of season and I couldn't find any frozen ones, so I substituted raspberries. It was a good choice!

PPS: This photo was published on FoodGawker and Taste Spotting! :D

Strawberry/Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes (Makes 12)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1t baking powder
1/4t baking soda
1/2t salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 cup milk (any kind)
2t vanilla essence
1t lemon zest
1t lemon juice
Red food colouring (optional)

5-8 strawberries, depending on size

200g butter
2 cups icing sugar
2T lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1t vanilla essence

Directions:
Chop the strawberries into small pieces into a large metal bowl and then mash them until they are pulpy. I actually did this because I didn't have a food processor at the flat and just thought I would try it out and it worked really well! So when they are pulpy, put them in a sieve and push out all of the juice possible. Then tip the pulpy bits into another bowl.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix. Whisk together the strawberry juice, oil, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Add red food colouring here if desired, to make the cupcakes pinker. Mix until relatively smooth. Full the cupcake liners until about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden (or pink)  and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. When cool, use a piping bag to frost as desired.

Strawberry Lemonade Frosting:
Either leave the butter in a warm place to soften to room temperature, or soften in the microwave. Then beat with a stand mixer until whipped and airy. Add the icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the lemon juice, vanilla and stawberries and mix until well combined. Then taste and be amazed!