White Chocolate Strawberry Ice Cream Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
4 ounces white chocolate (I used chips), melted and cooled to room temperature.
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1 recipe Strawberry Ice Cream
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners; set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter until light in color. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until just combined, scraping the bowl as needed. Stir in the melted chocolate and vanilla until combined. Sprinkle 1/3 of the flour mixture into the bowl and mix until just combined. Add half of the milk, mixing until just combined before adding the rest of the flour and milk in alternating additions (half of the remaining flour, the remaining milk, the remaining flour) Do not over mix.
Place 2 level tablespoons of batter in each cupcake liner. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until centers are slightly firm. Allow to cool completely before filling or frosting.
Very Vanilla Whipped Cream
Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (if you can’t get vanilla sugar, you can use plain sugar and add and extra 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract instead)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a large owl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, whip the cream on medium high speed until it thickens and very soft peaks begin to form. Add the vanilla sugar and continue whipping until firm peaks form. Stir in the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Do not over whip.
Fresh Strawberry Topping
Ingredients
1/2 lb. fresh strawberries, hulled (see quick hulling tutorial)
1 tablespoon sugar
To make the strawberry topping: Slice 2/3 of the strawberries and set aside.
Place the remaining 1/3 of the strawberries in a medium bowl and crush with a masher. Stir int eh sugar and sliced strawberries. Cover and set aside to macerate for at least an hour before using.
Assemble the cupcakes: Cut a core out of each of the cupcakes. Fill each cupcake with 1 to 2 tablespoons of ice cream. Frost with fresh whipped cream and top with strawberry topping. Serve immediately.
