White Chocolate Strawberry Stuffed Cupcakes

What's better than chocolate and strawberries? White chocolate and strawberries! One of my coworkers celebrated her birthday this week and a little birdie (or two) mentioned how my coworker loves white chocolate, strawberries and vanilla cake. Well, those ingredients easily found their way in these White Chocolate Strawberry Stuffed Cupcakes. Tender French Vanilla cake is stuffed with a fresh strawberry filling and topped with a decadent white chocolate frosting. For a final touch, these cupcakes are kissed with sparkly pink and purple sprinkles to match the liners the cupcakes wore to the party...

It's funny how everyone in my office knows there's a birthday being celebrated when my cupcake tower comes out. This time, it's my friend Michelle who's celebrating a birthday and making these cupcakes were a lot of fun. I used my tried and true go to recipe for french vanilla cake, baked in cupcake form. As for the filling, I used fresh strawberries that I picked at a local strawberry patch. They were small berries but super sweet and made for a great filling. That was one of the most talked about parts of this cupcake in the office! And lastly, the frosting was made with white chocolate that was folded into a traditional buttercream recipe. It's important to use good quality white chocolate - white chocolate chips or candy melts do not work well in this recipe! I also wanted to mention the liners I used. Whenever I bake cupcakes and use cute liners, I always feel a little bummed when the color or pattern of the liner dulls or fades after baking. I recently came across some liners that actually stood up to the baking and retained their color and pattern! Wilton ColorCups are now my favorite cupcake liners because they are a little thicker and the colors/patterns can actually be appreciated. These are foil lined liners with bold colors and patterns. If you spot them at the store, grab them and give them a try. You'll soon convert and pitch those flimsy paper liners once and for all!

 White Chocolate Strawberry Stuffed Cupcakes
cake recipe from Vanilla Garlic

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups of sugar or vanilla sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup of cream
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. Combine spices in small bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on high until soft for 30 seconds then add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy. Continue to add eggs and egg yolks one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Measure out milk, cream and vanilla extract in 2 cup measuring cup. Cut open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds and add them to the milk mixture.

Add the flour mixture to the stand mixer bowl, then the milk mixture; alternating between the two and ending with the flour. Mix thoroughly.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Fresh Strawberry Fillingrecipe adapted from Good Things Catered

2 pint containers of fresh strawberries
1 3/4 cup water, divided
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons cornstarch


In a small bowl, place 1/2 cup of fresh strawberries and set aside.

In a large saucepan, place the remaining strawberries along with 1 1/4 cup of water, sugar and lemon juice. Bring it to a boil and allow to cook, stirring the berries occasionally. They'll eventually break down in about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and strain the berry mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Place the mixture back into the saucepan over medium low heat.

In a small bowl, prepare a slurry by combining the remaining 1/2 cup of water and the vanilla with the cornstarch. Pour this slurry into the saucepan with the strained strawberry mixture. Mix well over medium low heat until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

Cut out the middles of each cupcake once cooled. Spoon a teaspoon of filling into each cupcake cavity and the top with white chocolate frosting. Replacing the top of the cupcakes is optional... I choose not to add the tops and just frosting the cupcakes once they were stuffed with filling.

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
recipe from Comfortably Domestic

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
6 oz. good quality white chocolate, chopped (NOT white chocolate chips or candy melts)
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract


Put the chopped white chocolate into a small bowl. Heat the chocolate in 30 second increments in the microwave set to 60% power. Stir after each increment, and continue to heat 30 seconds at a time, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside and allow to completely cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the softened butter. Sift the salt and 2 ½ cups of powdered sugar over the butter. On low speed, cream the ingredients together until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

With the mixer running on low speed, gradually pour the cream mixture the bowl, followed by the vanilla extract.

Add the melted (but cooled) white chocolate until incorporated; increase the mixer speed to medium, and beat frosting for an additional 3 minutes.

Add the remaining powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, until desired consistency.