Fresh Strawberry Mini Cupcakes

Celebrate spring with these fresh strawberry mini cupcakes. Made with whole wheat pastry flour with fresh and baked strawberries. These pack so much flavor, they are sure to be a hit.

There is nothing like the first strawberries of the season. They are tiny, sweet and bursting with flavor. Really they are just like candy, nature’s candy to be exact. In fact they are so good by themselves it’s was kind of hard to think about baking them for this recipe. But I’m glad I did, these little gems of goodness have so much flavor.

In this recipe part of the berries were chopped and folded in the batter. This gave that beautiful speckled look and moist texture inside the muffin. The rest of the berries were pureed and combined with powdered sugar for the glaze. The topping had such a powerful punch of flavor. These are just the perfect size for snacking, though you might find yourself going back for another and another.

Watch out this little beauties could easily steal the show, I know they have won my heart.

This recipe has been adapted from Whole Foods Market recipes.

Ingredients:

½ pound organic strawberries (rinsed and halved)
1 cup of lowfat buttermilk
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
¼ cup canola oil
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare mini muffin pan with cupcake holders.

Pulse strawberries in food processor until just chopped. Set aside ½ cup of the chopped fruit and then puree rest of berries until smooth. Scoop out and set aside in a separate medium-sized bowl. (This is for the glaze topping)

In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, sugar, yogurt, oil and egg. In another medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine with wet mixture. Gently fold the chopped strawberries into the batter. Spoon into muffin cups.

Bake until golden brown and each cupcake springs back in the middle when touched, about 11 to 13 minutes. Let cool a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, sift powdered sugar, then combine with reserved pureed strawberries. Spoon glaze over cupcakes. Enjoy!

Makes about 48 mini cupcakes.