Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Made for a zone conference. 
These did not come out as perfect as I hoped. Which is lucky for you if you plan to make them, because I can tell you what I did wrong so that you won't make the same mistakes :)

First off, the cupcake was a bit dry. But that is because I had to make them 2 days early. But still, I think they would taste better with a lemon curd filling or just a bit of lemon curd or lemon glaze underneath the frosting.
Other mistake: made the frosting too soft. The thing about this frosting is that it has a great strawberry taste, nothing fake, so I didn't want to add too much sugar and cover up that nice strawberry flavor. So the recipe is great as is if you're just going to spread the frosting on (as opposed to piping it on), otherwise add more sugar. Or you can try reducing the strawberry puree more.

That's all. Otherwise they were so very delicious, nom nom.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Cupcakes: (Ina's yummy recipe HERE)

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 c granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• grated lemon zest of 6 large lemons
• 3 c flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 c lemon juice (fresh squeezed from your zested lemons)
• 3/4 c buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla

Frosting: (from HERE)

• 1 c fresh strawberries
• 1 c butter
• 3-1/2 c powdered sugar, sifted, divided
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Prep muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, and then the lemon zest.
In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another small bowl combine the lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla. Add those two mixtures to the batter alternately beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Fill cupcake wells about 2/3 full and bake 12-18 minutes, turning pan halfway through. Let cool completely.

For the frosting, start by pureeing the strawberries in a blender. Transfer the puree to a small saucepan and heat it over medium. Let it come to a boil and stir it continuously until it's reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Let that cool completely.
Beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 1 cup of sugar.
Add 2 T strawberry puree and vanilla; beat until just blended.
Add another 1 cup of sugar, beat. Then 2 T puree, beat. Repeat.
Add the last 1/2 cup of sugar and you are done.

Top the cupcakes with the frosting, add a lemon slice if desired, and enjoy.