Red, White, and Blue Double Strawberry Shortcakes

We are out having lots of Fourth of July fun,

(here’s a sneak peek)

but I thought I might actually plan ahead and have a blog post appear anyway.  (Imagine that!)  This delicious little cupcake is what the big people in our family ate to celebrate Miss Zara being halfway to one (almost).  We jumped the gun and gave her solid foods yesterday, a whole three days early since Chris was going to be home and she has been demanding food at mealtimes.  Toys and distractions are no longer satisfying to our curious little girl, so last night we sang her “Happy Half Birthday” and gave her a bowl of mashed sweet potato to smear around.  The sweet potato was her first official food, although technically it was the second food she managed to get into her mouth — last Saturday, she managed to grab a fistful of Chris’  restaurant linguine special when I wasn’t looking.  Feeding herself pasta off the nearest plate is surely a sign of solid food readiness if there ever was one.  Being the paranoid mom I am, I took the linguine away, but we did bump up her first food by three days as a compromise, and she seemed to enjoy the experience very much.

Given the deliciousness of these cupcakes, neither of the rest of us were complaining either.  This recipe is loosely based off of one in my Martha Stewart Cupcakes book, and is the perfect early summer treat.  I put whipped cream on top rather than frosting, which made it light and not too sugary.  And since it’s the Fourth of July and I just happened to have naturally colored blue sugar sprinkles left from Zara’s birthday cake (bought incase she had been a boy), I tossed those on too.  Yum.

Red, White, and Blue Double Strawberry Shortcakes
makes 10 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 large eggs
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup finely chopped strawberries, plus small strawberries for garnish
• whipped cream (see below)
• naturally colored sugar sprinkles (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream butter, vanilla and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beating until well combined.

Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl and stir in chopped strawberries. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each full.

Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.

After cupcakes have cooled, top with a dollop of whipped cream, sliced strawberries and sugar sprinkles, if using.  Eat immediately or store in refrigerator.

HOW TO MAKE WHIPPED CREAM
Makes about 2 cups.

In a deep mixing bowl, beat 1 cup heavy cream until soft peaks form.  Sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar over cream; beat until soft peaks return. Do not overbeat.