Strawberry Cupcakes With Lemon Zest Cream Cheese Icing Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners., In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients; beat on low 30 seconds. Beat on medium 2 minutes. Fill prepared cups half full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a large bowl, combine all ingredients, except additional strawberries; beat until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Garnish with additional strawberries. Store in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray cupcake cups with cooking spray, or line with cupcake liners.
• Place 8 strawberries into a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour the puree through a strainer to remove seeds. Puree should equal about 3/4 cup. Set the puree aside.
• In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, white sugar, vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, lemon zest, and strawberry puree until well combined. Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla pudding mix (for a moister cupcake), and red food coloring to reach a desired shade of pink. Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake cups, filling each about 2/3 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the cupcakes have risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool at least 10 minutes before frosting.
• To make frosting, beat cream cheese and butter together in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until smooth, and mix in confectioners' sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract to make a lump-free icing. Frost each cupcake with about 2 tablespoons of icing, and top each cupcake with a strawberry slice.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make, bake and cool cake mix as directed on box for 24 cupcakes, adding grated lemon peel with the water.
• Place 4 oz strawberries in blender. Cover; pulse 20 seconds to puree strawberries. Pour 1/4 cup of the strawberry puree into medium bowl. Stir in fluffy white frosting until well mixed.
• Generously frost cupcakes. Garnish with sliced strawberries and lemon peel curls. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.