SHORTCAKE VANILLA CUPCAKES
Inspired to the classic Strawberry Shortcake, these Shortcake Vanilla Cupcakes are the perfect treat for any celebration and the Holiday Season too!The soft vanilla cupcakes are filled with a homemade strawberry compote and an irresistible no-butter Mascarpone cheese frosting!These cupcakes are very moist and thanks to the oil added in the batter, they keep their moisture for many days.The Mascarpone frosting is the most easy and delicious you can ever make: just place all the ingredients in the bowl and mix with a hand mixer until get a creamy, smooth and thick frosting that perfect holds its piping shape (but if you live in a very hot climate, consider that it will tend to melt much faster than classic buttercream).
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 2 (130 g) eggs, large size room temperature
- 150 g (2/3 cup) caster sugar or regular white sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) milk room temperature
- 60 g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 15 g (1 tbsp) vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 180 g (1+1/2 cup) all purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
Strawberry Filling
- 180 g (6 oz) strawberries washed, cleaned and chopped
- 40 g (3 tbsp) caster sugar
- 1+1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 4 g (1 tsp) cornstarch
Vanilla Frosting
- 250 g (8,5 oz) Mascarpone cheese chilled; if you can't find it, substitute it with cream cheese like Philadelphia
- 200 ml (3/4 cup+2tbsp) whipping cream chilled; or heavey cream
- 60 g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla paste
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- In a large bowl place eggs, sugar, vanilla and mix with a handmixer for about 5 minutes or until become lighter and double in size, but not too thick (you don't need to get the ribbon stage).
- Heat milk and butter in microwave or bain marie until butter is completely melted and add it (when still hot) to the egg mix.
- Add vegetable oil and mix slowly as little as you can, just until combined.
- In a medium size bowl sift together flour, salt, baking powder and mix it.
- Incorporate flour mix into the egg mix and slowly mix as little as you can: don't overbeat it, mix just until combined or your cupcakes won't turn out soft. You can switch hand mixer for a whisk and a spatula.
- Divide the batter into 12 lined muffin molds.
- Bake in preheated oven (upper and lower heat, no fan) at 180°C-350°F for about 17 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool down completely on a wire rack.
Strawberry Filling
- Place chopped strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice into a small saucepan.
- Cook over medium-low heat until boiling (stirring often) and keep on simmering over low heat for about 10 minutes or a bit more, until thicken a bit.
- Transfer into a chilled bowl and cool down completely. You can prepare this filling the day before and keep it in refrigerator.
Vanilla Frosting
- In a large bowl place Mascarpone, powdered sugar, vanilla, whipping cream and mix with a hand mixer for few minutes until become smooth and fluffy: be careful to stop at the right consistency, don't overbeat or you'll get buttery taste.
Assembly
- Make a hole in the center of every cupcake using a knife or the back of a large piping tip.
- Fill cupcakes with the chilled strawberry filling.
- Pipe the Vanilla Frosting using a 1M star tip.
- You can keep in refrigerator about 30-60 minutes before serve it if your frosting turned out a bit loose or if you live in a very hot climate.
Video
Notes
Store in refrigerator for about 4-5 days.
Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes before serving.
After you refrigerate them, they keep stable at room temperature for about 2-3 hours at 22°C.