England Calling
Strawberry Cupcakes
"Let me take you down 'Cause I'm going to strawberry fields Nothing is real And nothing to get hung about Strawberry fields forever" The melody is playing in my headphones, performed by a classical orchestra. The Beatles' songs conjure up all sorts of memories and associations and Strawberry Fields has a special magic and mysterious charm for me. I really loved a book called "Les Beatles, comment les cuisiner" by French culinary critic and Beatles fan Emmanuel Rubin. He asked some famous French chefs and amateur cooks to come up with recipes inspired by 12 hits from the legendary pop group. It turned out to be quite interesting: — The song Penny Lane is represented by a recipe for fish and chips. But not just any fish and chips – it includes a batter made from white beer, flour, cornflour and sparkling water. — Octopus' Garden is rendered as a dish of octopus with a garlic and saffron sauce called rouille. — Glass Onion inspires a recipe for onions stewed with elderflower. And as for Strawberry Fields... This classic masterpiece deserves nothing less than an unforgettable recipe for strawberry cupcakes. Soft and incredibly delicious.
Ingredients
- Serves 4 (~18 cupcakes)
- For the icing:
- 340 g butter
- ¼ tsp salt
- 700 g icing sugar
- 100 g strawberries, plus extra for decoration
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- For the batter:
- 360 g flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 230 g butter at room temperature
- 300 g sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 120 g sour cream
- 120 ml full-fat milk
- 220 g strawberries
Method
- 1Mix the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- 2Take the butter out of the fridge and let it soften. Cut it into small pieces and beat with the sugar until light and creamy.
- 3Add the eggs one by one, mixing well. Add the vanilla extract.
- 4Gradually add the flour in thirds. Mix well again.
- 5In a separate bowl, mix the sour cream with the milk, then fold it into the batter.
- 6Chop the strawberries finely and fold them into the smooth batter.
- 7Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and fill them with the batter. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 20–25 minutes. Leave them to cool.
- 8For the icing, beat the butter with the salt and icing sugar.
- 9Add the strawberry puree and vanilla extract. Mix well. Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes and decorate with strawberry slices.
