With Valentines day quickly approaching I have been inspired to cook all things love.   Anything decadent is perfectly acceptable to whip up and enjoy. Enter strawberry and vanilla cupcakes.  These cupcakes are dense and moist. They are smothered in frosting.  They are dreamy. Cream cheese and fresh strawberries were never a crime anyway. I highly recommend you make these for the people you love, and if you happen to be single make them just for yourself.  A little fairy told me that if you eat something on a Friday it is magically calorie free.

 

Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup softened butter

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 cups all purpose flour

1.75 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

 

Preheat over to 350 degrees F, line a muffin tin with paper liners

In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and the butter.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour and baking powder then add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Stir in the milk and mix until the batter is smooth. Spoon into prepared muffin tin.

Bake for 18-24 minutes until cake springs back with touch or knife comes out clean.

 

Icing;

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

2.5 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup pureed strawberry

In a medium bowl, cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract and then gradually add in the icing sugar. Once icing sugar is well blended add in the strawberry mixture and mix well.  Refrigerate until ready to be used.

These are delicious.  The icing is a very subtle pink color with a hint of strawberry flavour. The vanilla cake and cream cheese icing are the perfect match for a decadent treat.  I could hardly take a picture of these before they were gone.  Usually the sign of a perfectly baked good.