Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two muffin tins with large paper liners.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
• *For pureed strawberries, use an immersion blender, small food processor, blender, or even mash them really well with a fork. Do not overblend. Leave some small pieces so that there are some strawberry flecks in the batter. Prepare 1¾ cups of pureed strawberries and set aside ¼ cup for the buttercream.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, 1½ cups strawberry puree, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, folding gently until just combined and no flour remains visible.
• Fill muffin liners about ⅔ full. Using a cookie scoop to do this helps fill the liners neatly and evenly. Bake for 18-24 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes gently resist and bounce back when you press your finger on the tops. If your finger leaves an indent, they are not done yet. Let cool 5-10 minutes in the pans, then remove the cupcakes from the tins and let cool completely on wire racks before icing them.

Strawberry Buttercream

• Using and electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add the icing sugar and mix. Add 2 tablespoons of pureed strawberries and mix, adding more strawberry puree to thin the icing to the right consistency for piping. I used about 3-3½ tablespoons. It should be soft and spreadable, but thick enough to hold it's shape when piped. Add more icing sugar to thicken, or more puree or milk/cream to thin it out. Once it's the right consistency, stop mixing as over-beating can cause the mixture to split.
• Fill a piping bag with icing and pipe onto the tops of cooled cupcakes. I used a Wilton 2D tip and started in the middle and piped in a circlular swirl out to the edges. Or spread it on with a knife if that's more your speed! Click here for a tutorial I found helpful for piping.