Strawberry Suprise

For my dad's birthday I decided at the last minute to bake some cupcakes. I didn't have very much time but wanted to do something special. The result..... vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting and a little strawberry suprise!

3 eggs, separated
1 Tbsp lemon juice
140g / 175ml white sugar
25ml hot water
140g / 250ml cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Beat the egg whites till stiff but not dry. Beat in the lemon juice and half the sugar. Beat until the sugar dissolves.

Using the same beater, without rinsing it, beat the egg yolks until light and thick. Add the hot water and beat continuously.

Add the rest of the sugar, little by little, beating well after each addition.

Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then sift in layers over the egg mixture and fold in lightly using a spatula. Repeat until all the dry ingredients have been mixed in.

Pour the batter into your cupacke cups. Bake at 180 degrees celsius for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.

NOTE: It takes 20 minutes in my oven, but my oven doesn't get very hot, so keep an eye on them

Take out and cool on a cooling rack.

Once slightly cooled enough for you to handle, but still warm, scoop out a little hole in the centre of each cupcake using a melon baller. Add a teaspoon of strawberry preserve or jam and gently push the little piece of cake back in on top of the strawberry. The strawberry will melt into the cake a go deliciously gooey!

Frost with buttercream frosting and decorate.

3 cups icing sugar
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 to 2 Tbsp whipping cream

Mix together sugar and butter on a low speed until well blended. Add vanilla and cream and beat a little more. Depending on the consistency you want add more cream / icing sugar.

Happy baking!