Recipe of The Day: Light Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Photo & Recipe courtesy of Right@Home

Sure, you could make lemonade out of lemons. But if you had the choice, wouldn't you rather make cupcakes? A sweet strawberry glaze tempers the lemony flavor of the cake, adding a pop of flirty pink in the process. And if all that sounds good, consider this: the recipe uses very little oil and egg whites, not yolks, slashing fat for a zero-guilt indulgence. Finally, you can have your cupcakes and eat them, too.

Prep Time : 30 minutes
Bake Time : 15 minutes
Total Time : 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sifted cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (grapeseed, canola or safflower)
• 1/4 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, defrosted
• Zest of 1/2 of a lemon
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• spray oil
• 1/2 pint fresh strawberries
• 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Coat the liners lightly with the spray oil (this will allow the cupcakes to be easily removed from the liners).
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest in a large bowl.
3. Pour the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Begin beating the whites on medium speed until they begin to turn opaque and fluffy. While the mixer is still running, pour the sugar slowly into the egg whites. Increase the speed to high and continue beating until stiff, but not dry.
4. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the vegetable oil and lemonade concentrate. Fold in one third of the egg whites with a rubber spatula into the flour mixture until all of the ingredients are moistened. Fold the moistened ingredients into the remaining egg whites gently until just combined.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the lined cups. Place the muffin tin on the center rack and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the tin by 90 degrees and bake for 5 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let cool. The cupcakes will deflate slightly during baking, creating a little valley in the center of each one. This will be filled with the strawberry glaze.
6. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the strawberry glaze. In a small bowl, mash 4 to 5 of the ripest and juiciest strawberries and push the mash through the fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Whisk 2 tablespoons strawberry puree into the confectioner’s sugar in a medium bowl. The glaze will be fairly thick and light pink in color. If the glaze is too thick to spread on the cupcakes, add more strawberry puree a drop a time. Whisk in lemon juice. Spread the glaze onto the cupcakes. Let set for about an hour.
7. Rinse the remaining strawberries. Stem, hull, and slice the strawberries. Arrange decoratively on top of the strawberry glaze.