My friend J ordered some cupcakes for her daughter M's birthday, to be shared with the little girl's kindergarten class. Being the democratic person that I am, I stoutly declared that M should make the very important decision of choosing the flavour for her cupcakes. I excitedly made up a list - chocolate, tiramisu, lemon, carrot, and as an afterthought (a reluctant afterthought, I may add), threw strawberry into the list, thinking there was no way she would go with strawberry. I mean, how exciting can strawberry be? Strawberry is so ... so predictable isn't it?
Well, M chose strawberry and I dutifully complied. I did say it was a democratic process didn't I? I decided that the strawberry filling will NOT come from a jar. No siree, if I was going to make strawberry cupcakes, the strawberry filling will be completely hand made and home made, short of picking the strawberries myself. So I embarked on an experimenting frenzy, making up batches of strawberry filling till I was completely satisfied. The result was a buttery cupcake filled with a strawberry filling that was neither too tart nor too sweet but the best part was the chunks of strawberry pulp that you could actually sink your teeth into. And the buttercream on top? Good old fashioned vanilla of course, a perfect complement to good old fashioned strawberry. A cupcake after my own heart.
