Strawberry Cupcakes With Macerated Strawberries And Peanut Brittle Recipes

THE BEST PEANUT BRITTLE

Steps:

• Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
• Stir together the sugar, corn syrup and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan fitted with a candy/deep-fry thermometer. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then continue to boil until it's golden brown and it reaches 340 degrees F, about 15 minutes.
• Working quickly, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and baking soda until smooth (it will foam and bubble up). Stir in the peanuts until evenly distributed amongst the sugar mixture.
• Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and quickly smooth with a rubber spatula into a thin and even layer. Let harden uncovered at room temperature until cooled completely. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE BUTTERFLY CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Prepare the cake mix according to the package directions to make 24 cupcakes. Bake and let cool 15 minutes in the pan on a rack, then transfer the cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.
• Hull and chop about 8 strawberries (for about 1 cup chopped). Stir together the chopped strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature, tossing a few times, until the strawberries are juicy, about 15 minutes.
• For the remaining 24 strawberries, put a strawberry stem-side down on a cutting board. Make 2 crisscross slices down and almost all the way through the strawberry, stopping just before the stem to keep the stem end intact. Gently pull the 4 sections apart to form a butterfly. Repeat with the remaining strawberries.
• Make the antennae by cutting 2 thin strips of green taffy, about 1 inch long and 1 millimeter wide each. Roll the taffy strips between your hands to make ropes, and curl up one end of each rope slightly. Repeat, making a pair of antennae for the remaining 23 butterflies.
• To assemble the cupcakes: Transfer the whipped topping to a pastry bag fitted with a medium open star tip. Core the cupcakes from their tops with a small melon baller, spoon or paring knife. Fill each with some macerated strawberries and pipe a swirl of whipped topping on top to cover. Decorate each cupcake with a strawberry butterfly. Tuck a pair of antennae into the whipped topping behind each strawberry butterfly with the curled ends up and facing outward.

STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line muffin pans with paper liners.
• In a medium bowl, cream together the granulated sugar, gelatin, butter and cream cheese. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and rum. Combine the flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the milk and strawberries until the batter is smooth. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The cupcakes are done when they spring back to the touch. Let cool.
• For the strawberry frosting: In a medium bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese. Add the confectioners' sugar, rum and strawberry extract.
• For the strawberry filling: Cut the strawberries into small pieces and place into a medium saucepan. Add the sugar and bring to a light boil. Once the filling begins to boil, turn off the heat, add the rum and let sit for 10 minutes to cool.
• To assemble: Core out the center of the cupcakes and fill with strawberry filling. Then cover the tops of the cupcakes with the strawberry frosting.

MACERATED STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Toss the strawberries in the simple syrup and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

MACERATED STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• In a bowl combine all ingredients. Let stand in refrigerator for 2 hours.