Cupcake Test 9, Strawberry & Cream

The Strawberry & Cream cupcake had been previewed by StO and her crew found it tasty and delish and maybe even their favorite.  It's a bit different in that you use Strawberry Soda to flavor a white cake mix.  I'm not quite sure why you wouldn't just use a strawberry cake mix, but hey, we're testing wedding cupcakes here!

I can't believe that I ordered some piping tips off of the Wilton's site.  I've been checking my local sources and let me just say, they are lacking.  I ordered some of the extra large tips so that I can get quick and full coverage - some rounds, some stars...  I don't remember what all now.

And yesterday, I picked up another cupcake book called Cupcake Heaven, by Susannah Blake.  Apple & Cinnamon, Carrot & Cardamom, Lavender, Rosewater - and those are the "Simple" cupcakes.   My taste buds are tingling just thinking about it.

So back to the regularly scheduled programming:

Process Notes:  Not much to note here.  The cupcakes were well behaved.  I used one batch of the cream cheese frosting recipe in the back of the book to frost the cupcakes.  Instead of topping them with sliced strawberries (since I didn't have any!) I sprinkled some pretty pink sugar on instead.

Tasting Notes:  Me - the cream cheese frosting is near perfect, especially when paired with the strawberry cupcake.  I wish I had thought to stir in some frozen strawberry puree into the cake mix, like my favorite bakery in Dallas - Stein's - but I was too late.  The cupcakes were lightly flavored with strawberry and were a delight to eat.

Mark - had a taste when he got home, and his comment was "I wish I hadn't done that - now I want some more!"  He delivered nearly the full batch to work and when he wandered through the kitchen at lunch time, there were two left.  At least three folks went back for seconds.  I think you can count these as a hit!