Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes for Jamie

ByBluebonnet Baker
45 Comments

Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes are light and sweet, and full of tart lemon flavor. The strawberry buttercream is impossible to resist.

I feel sorry for winter babies. Being one myself, I know the envy that is birthday pool parties, slip and slides and barbecue parties, or, well, pretty much any outdoor party you can think of.

When February rolled around every year, all I wanted was a pool party with an ice cream sundae bar like my sister.

So I feel for Little E, my soon-to-be niece, over there in Ohio. Baby Girl, I know you will wish for birthday parties with swimwear and grilled meats.

But I promise that your mama and I will do everything we can to make your winter birthday super sunshiny and happy every year.

In case you haven't heard, my dearest friend in all the land (to quote Kristan) is about to have a baby girl.

Our little ones will be just about 3 months apart, and I already have secret machinations to betroth them to one another as soon as possible so that Jamie and I can be family f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

Sounds like a solid plan, right?

Back to cupcakes. The thing about the internet is that your bestest friends can sometimes live hundreds of miles from you.

As much as I'd like to take my little tush to Ohio and throw Jamie the rockin'-est baby shower (Not that she'd actually want one - stubborn girl), it's really not an option when I have my own newborn and the weather has made traveling incredibly stupid lately.

So we're throwing Jamie our own little baby shower right here on the interwebnets.

I made the most delicious of cupcakes for mah girl, because we all know Jamie loves a good cupcake.

You've seen her chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes, right? And her Rolo cupcakes are not to be missed.

I wanted something light and bright, with a sweet little surprise inside, just like Jamie and her baby girl.

These Strawberry Lemon cupcakes are just the ticket. The cake is just the right amount of lemon-y and sweet.

Tucked inside each one is a fresh strawberry. And each one is topped with a light strawberry frosting made with yummy preserves for an extra sweet finish.

These are exactly the sort of cupcakes you'd want to see on the dessert table of a baby girl's baby shower.

Something summery to help you forget that it's silly cold outside.

Jamie, you know I couldn't live without you. You make me laugh every day, and it's the best thing in the world to have a friend that just gets me.

I can't wait for our littles to be the best of friends. James and I couldn't be happier for you and Eric. Baby E is the luckiest little girl in the world. We love her so much already!

Julie from The Little Kitchen | Pistachio Pudding Cupcakes
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Shaina from Food for My Family | Vanilla Raspberry Mini Meringue Kisses
Glory from Glorious Treats | Modern decorated cookies
Cheryl from TidyMom | Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Buttercream
Katie from Good Life {Eats} | Raspberry Hibiscus Soda
Aimee from SimpleBites | How to freeze a big batch of homemade waffles
Amanda from I am Baker | Heath Bar Cake
Steph from Steph Chows | PB oatmeal cookies
Allison from Some the Wiser | Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins
Megan from Stetted | Strawberry Jalapeno Palmiers
Shelly from Cookies & Cups | Bacon Cheddar Scones
Emily from Jelly Toast | Meyer Lemon Scones
Kristan from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen | Samoa Layer Cake

Lemon Cupcakes Pic from BluebonnetsandBrownies.com

Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes for Jamie

Yield: 20-22 Cupcakes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
Total Time: 37 minutes

Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes are a little bit of summer in dessert form. Bright citrus and sweet berries make them totally irresistible.

No Ratings

Ingredients

For the Cake:

  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¼ cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ⅓ cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons lemon extract
  • 1 tablespoon fresh or dried lemon peel
  • Fresh strawberries

For the Frosting:

  • ¾ cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
  • 2 tablespoons strawberry preserves
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract

Instructions

For the Cake:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and vegetable shortening. Beat on high using the paddle attachment, until well combined and fluffy.
  3. Add sugar to the butter mixture, ½ cup at a time, mixing on high speed. Wait for the addition to be completely absorbed before adding the next half cup.
  4. Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating the egg completely before adding the next.
  5. Leave the batter mixing on medium speed while you combine the dry ingredients.
  6. In a small bowl, combine all purpose flour, baking powder and kosher salt. Use a whisk to combine and aerate the flour.
  7. When the batter is light and fluffy, add the flour and buttermilk in alternating increments, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Use the low speed to add them in.
  8. Add lemon extract and lemon peel to the batter and mix again on low speed for just a few minutes to evenly distribute. Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well combined.
  9. Line a muffin pan with 20-22 cupcake liners. Lightly spray them with baking spray. Distribute the batter evenly among the cupcake liners.
  10. Wash and dry fresh strawberries. Remove tops, then slice each strawberry into 3-4 slices. If you're able to get small spring strawberries, you can use the whole strawberry in the cupcake. I could only find giant ones, so I used 1 slice for each cupcake. Place a slice or whole strawberry in the center of each cupcake batter.
  11. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until the cupcakes are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted off center (remember, there's a strawberry in the center) comes out clean.
  12. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting:

  1. Combine shortening, butter, and preserves in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on high speed until well combined, scraping the sides often.
  2. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating on high and scraping the bowl after each addition.
  3. When powdered sugar is completely incorporated, add lemon extract and beat again.
  4. If the frosting is too stiff and has not reached your desired consistency, add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time and beat on high until it does. If the frosting is too loose, add more powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time until it does.
  5. Decorate the cupcakes with the frosting however you like. This recipe makes enough frosting to decadently cover each cupcake with a large tip from Bake It Pretty.

Notes

Adapted from Add a Pinch's Best White Cake Recipe

Did you make this recipe?

Tag me on social (@bluebonnetbaker) so I can see how awesome you are!

© Amber Bracegirdle
Category: Cupcakes

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45 Comments

  1. These look so good. I love the whole strawberry in the center! Here's to arranged marriages!

    1. Shaina, I was worried those strawberries weren't going to work out, but they do. They SO do. They cook a little bit, but not enough to disappear. They're the perfect juicy pop in the center of each cupcake. And yes! Hooray for arranged marriages. 😉

  2. I always struggle to put my feelings into words, but you do it so beautifully, Amber! Thank you so much for hosting this party for Jamie, and it would have been super fun to have you come to Ohio a throw a bash (maybe for her first birthday?!) These cupcakes look so perfect, and I can't get over how sweet the little strawberry in the middle is. Baby 'E' is one lucky little girl to have such an awesome aunt!!

    1. I think it's a date. Though let's all truck to Florida for a mega first birthday party instead. Thank you for your sweet words, Emily. I loved your post, I don't know what you're talking about, struggle!

  4. Awe these cupcakes sound divine and perfect for summer in winter 😉 I have an April party and its always still a little too cold for pool parties and slip and slides. A great excuse to have a "first day of summer" party! 🙂

    1. Great idea, Katie! Thanks for your sweet words. Now, what sort of cupcake should we make for baby boy??

  6. These look so tasty! Once i'm over this whole GF-trial nonsense, I'll have to make them since we both know how much I adore your recipes. And congrats to Jamie!!!

    PS - the grass always seems to be greener on the other side. As a summer birthday girl, I was always envious of the ones that got to have parties at school and wear the birthday crown - people were always on vacation during the summer (but I did have a pool party every year with grilled hot dogs 😉 ).

    1. E, I didn't know you were going GF! If you don't want to wait, I'm pretty sure this recipe would lend itself well to King Arthur Flour's gluten free all purpose flour blend.

      I still think you got the better end of the stick. Who the hell wants to be in *school* on their birthday?!

      1. It's just a trial!! I always have headaches (I swear this one has been going on for at least a month), so I'm going to see if it helps. I'm hoping it does, but I'm also hoping it doesn't because this girl loves her carbs. and baking. and eating.

  7. Such sweet cupcakes for a sweet post! I'm sure your babies will be BFFs (and can celebrate their bdays together at an indoor water park. Way cooler than a BBQ!)

  8. What a perfectly cute way to celebrate Jamie today! My birthday is mid-March, so I get sort of the crap-shoot of seasons every year. Some years it's warm, some it's cold; I try to tell myself it's the best of both worlds., but I usually wind up knee deep in slushy snow!

    1. Ruthy, my husband is mid-March too. I say you and he are both old enough to hold your birthday parties in South Florida every year, thus ensuring sunshine and bright skies 🙂

  9. I love strawberries and lemon together!! these are so cute!! Thanks for organizing this for Jamie! 🙂

  10. These are adorable... And, I love the fresh strawberries! What a sweet surprise.

    As a late fall baby, I can kind of relate to the winter baby woes... Of course, I really love pumpkins, so it has kinda worked out for me.

    1. At least as a late fall baby, if you lived down south, you could still have that pool party. Ava has.

    1. I can't say for sure if Jamie's on board, but I'm certainly going to be singing Baby E's praises to Evan as much as possible. 😉 And that cake stand was a gift from Casey. Isn't she awesome?

  12. I suspected you two might be plotting to set up your babies! What a sweet union that would be. 😉

    Adorable cupcakes. A sweet celebration for a very special occasion. <3

  13. How perfect that you two are having babies so close together!! the cupcakes are perfect. How fun would it be if we could all really get together today!!

    Alas, the virtual shower is the perfect solution to celebrate!!!

  14. Such a sweet way to celebrate Jamie's little one's upcoming arrival. Love these cupcakes. They sound perfect!

    1. Robyn, thanks for a great recipe to base them off of. The cake is perfect, just like you said. It definitely lends itself perfectly to lemon too.

  15. SO sweet!! Love it. This is a beautiful recipe and such a sweet testament to your bestie! Thanks so much for doing all this!

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