Birthday Cake Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

My daughter asked me to make one, yes, ONE, cupcake for her friend at school as it was her birthday. I readily agreed being the loving and sweet mother I am.
And, I will admit, because I knew this would mean leftover cupcakes here for me, I mean "the family", to enjoy.

I wanted the cupcake batter to have a birthday cake feel to it. I remembered how my kids used to love Birthday Cake ice cream which was all the rage a few years ago. It had blue frosting swirled into the ice cream, some pink too if I recall correctly, and sprinkles thrown in for fun.

Instead of trying to swirl frosting into the cupcake somehow, I simply used my Wilton gel food dyes and streaked the batter with pink and teal coloring before filling up my muffin tins and baking away.

I then topped them with a strawberry cream cheese frosting and white sprinkles. I used my Wilton 2D piping tip to create the rose affect.

LET'S GET STARTED!


You will need your coloring gels handy
Pink and Teal
Grab several toothpicks as well; we will use them to
streak the color into the cupcake batter


and your 2D Piping Tip to make the Rosette topping


Now on with the show !

RECIPE: WHAT YOU NEED

WHITE CUPCAKES*

*Recipe Source: The Art and Soul of Baking

Standard muffin tin lined with paper liners.
Recipe makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/2 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup granulate white sugar
4 egg whites at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups (7 ounces) cake flour. Weigh it out first then sift it !
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (3 ounces) sour cream at room temperature
Pink and Teal Gel Coloring
Toothpicks

FROSTING

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3 oz plain cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups powdered/icing sugar, sifted
2-3 drops Strawberry Extract Oil (not the regular extract, but the oil, as it has stronger flavor and more truer to the taste of real berries) A little goes a long way!
Pink Gel Coloring
Sprinkles

MAKE IT

CUPCAKES

IN LARGE BOWL, cream together butter and sugar, MED speed with electric mixer 4-5 minutes
IN SMALL BOWL, WHISK together egg whites and vanilla just until combined
ADD EGG MIXTURE, one tablespoon at a time, to butter mixture blending well after each addition.
SCRAPE down sides of bowl when required
IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt
ADD 1/3 DRY INGREDIENTS to butter mixture, mix until combined
ADD 1/2 OF THE SOUR CREAM, to butter mixture, mix until combined
CONTINUE THIS PATTERN ending with flour.
ENSURE batter is well combined and no dry areas remain
WITH YOUR TOOTH PICK, scoop out some pink gel coloring and add it to your batter in different areas.
DO the same with the teal gel coloring
WITH YOUR TOOTHPICKS, swirl the coloring throughout the batter. You want mostly clear lines of color, do not over-blend or you will have on strange colored cupcake !
FILL muffin tins 3/4 way to the top

BAKE 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
ALLOW TO COOL COMPLETELY on a cooling rack





FROSTING:

IN LARGE BOWL, cream together butter and cream cheese, MED speed with electric mixer 4-5 minutes
ADD icing sugar and beat, MED speed, another 2-3 minutes
ADD strawberry extract blending until thoroughly combined
WITH A TOOTHPICK, add in a little pink gel food coloring. Blend and add more til you have the depth of color desired
PIPE frosting onto cooled cupcakes and finish off with sprinkles

For the birthday girl who is turning 16:
Her very own cupcake all tucked away in its little carrying case.

The yellow circle and #16 were made easily with candy melts.