Strawberry cupcakes ... A Valentine Special..:)

A Happy Valentines Day to everyone..

It is one of those special days when love is acknowledged .... I guess !!!!

I don't know what to write to fill up the first 2 to 3 paragraphs..... I don't want to go into some mushy love sentiment or blabber how great love is and blah blah blah...

Let us keep it simple... As humans we are bound to like another human..

Some relationships come as birth right - mom, dad, sister, brother, cousins etc... When a relationship happens spontaneously and unconditionally, then the special magic unfolds...

I didn't want to scribble any mushy sentiment but here I go again.... I wish everyone this celebration mood continues throughout everyday of your life..

Appreciate the good things in your life and look foward to all the positive happenings and keep smiling, always..:))

Valentines day celebration has come into practice in the recent past ... I have not seen my mom or dad celebrate this day nor have their counterparts or colleagues. I would say this is more of our generation enjoyment which as grown immensely.

In my home state of Tamil Nadu, special menu is prepared for the newly weds keeping in mind their new life together..;))

It was aimed to keep them physically, emotionally and mentally fit and to help them be stress free in all ways. Menu is filled with fresh fruits, milk, vegetable stir fries, simple dal curries, desserts made out of rock candy sugar, palm sugar and dry nuts.

There is no rocket science involved in this practice... eat foods full of nutrients and energy, lifts your mood [serotonin rich foods] and foods that doesn't make you sick...

So for this recipe, the star ingredient has to be and is an aphrodisiac. I am sure everybody is familiar with strawberries. A very photogenic little cutie which promises to steal anyone's heart by the look of it.

This recipe is from "The Hummingbird Bakery" cookbook. This is a very simple cake made with fresh strawberries and milk, topped with very light and airy cream to give you the pleasure of luscious flavour and feel in every bite.

The original recipe had cream cheese icing which I substituted for a light double cream cloud...:)

For the recipe: Makes 10-12 cupcakes
Plain flour: 120 gms.
Caster sugar: 100 gms.
Baking powder: 1-1/2 tsp.
Butter [melted]: 40 gms,
Whole milk: 110 ml.
Vanilla extract: 1/2 tsp.
Egg [medium]: 1.
Fresh strawberries [chopped]: 10 -12

For the icing:
Double cream:200ml.
Rose water: 1 tsp.
Icing sugar: 2-3 tsp.
Pink food colour: 1-2 drops

Beat the double cream until it is light and fluffy which would take around 6-8 minutes. Mix the icing sugar, rose water and pink food colour. Reserve until the cakes are ready are decorate.

Fill the piping bag with this light cream and pipe onto the cakes. Use any type of nozzle to create designs.

Garnish:
Fresh strawberries: a handful - chopped lengthwise.

1.Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C/ 325 F/ Gas mark 3. Line the cupcake tray with paper cases.
2.In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter. Mix until you get a sandy consistency and everything is well combined. You can use a free standing electric mixer or use a handheld electric whisk or just plain wooden spoon as I did.
3. Add the milk, egg and vanilla extract and mix everything together until well combined.
4.Divide the chopped strawberries equally among the paper cases.
5.Spoon the cake mix into the paper cases until 3/4 full. Bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool and decorate with light airy icing and garnish with fresh strawberries.

Note: As the cupcakes are made with fresh fruit it is best eaten on the day of making it. Do try this recipe with different fruits like pineapple, peaches, plums, mangoes etc. The icing will not be sweet but you can add more icing sugar if your heart desires.

You can use regular butter cream icing but I feel it is quite heavy in sugar and completely dominates the flavour.

You can omit the rose water and add vanilla extract along with some chocolate scrapping for added flavour.

Sending this to "Love Lock with Sweets" by Killer on the plate and Vidhya , Decorating Challenge 3 - Valentines Day by Amy, "Berries -Strawberries" by Anu ,  guest hosted by Vardhini , "Sweet Luv" by Vardhini , "Bon Vivant" by Sumee , Dish for Loved Ones by Sravs, Valentines Day Special by Anzz, Valentine Day Special by Teena Mary, Cakes Cookies and Desserts by Anjali.

Enjoy...

Scribbled by Reva