BLT Steak's cupcake recipe makes a great late
taste of summer. Credit: Lucy Lean
At the market I seek out Harry's Berries, a tried-and-true favorite for berries with exceptional flavor. They still have Gaviota and Seascape strawberries even now, in September, although farmer-partner Molly Gean says the volume is low so they sell out early in the day.
Karen Beverlin of Fresh Point Produce tells me that McGrath Family Farm in Camarillo has a new planting of Seascapes and expects to have them all through the winter. Edgar Jaime, farmer/partner of Jamie Farms, says recent the heat wave has affected strawberries' shelf life, but he is still harvesting at their farm in Santa Maria. He too expects to have strawberries all through the winter, as long as the weather is mild.
It's official: There are absolutely no seasonal items anymore in Los Angeles – not even that quintessential summer fruit, the strawberry!
Still, when you play with nature like this, these "out of season" strawberries tend to not be as firm and flavorsome. I opted to use my late taste of summer to make a strawberry purée for a delicious cupcake recipe from pastry chef Jessica Goryl at BLT Steak LA.
Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing
From Jessica Goryl, Pastry Chef at BLT Steak, LA
Yields 24 cupcakes
Ingredients
Strawberry Purée
2 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned, hulled and quartered
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Batter
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups cake flour, sifted
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk, slightly warmed
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons strawberry extract
8 ounces butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2–3 drops red food coloring
2 whole eggs
4 egg whites
Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing
10 ounces cream cheese, slightly softened
2 ounces butter, softened
1 2/3 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup strawberry purée
Pinch of salt
24 whole strawberries as garnish
Directions
Make the strawberry purée: Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepot set over low heat. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer mixture to a blender and purée until smooth. Strain mixture into a clean mixing bowl through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding the solids, and allow to chill on an ice bath. Set aside.
To make the batter: In a large bowl, sift together the baking powder, cake flour and salt. Set aside.
Add the buttermilk to a small saucepan set over low heat allow to warm, about 1 minute. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add 2/3 cup of the strawberry purée, vanilla extract and strawberry extract in a mixing bowl. Mix until well combined and set aside.
In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar and food coloring and mix until smooth, scraping the bowl if necessary to ensure the entire mixture is smooth. Slowly add the eggs and egg whites and continue to cream until smooth. Carefully incorporate the dry ingredients and buttermilk mixture alternately into the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Scoop the batter into a cupcake tray lined with cupcake liners.
To bake: Preheat oven to 300°. Cook cupcakes for 10 minutes and rotate pan. Bake for an additional 8 to10 minutes or until the cupcakes have set. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Make the strawberry cream cheese icing: In the electric mixer, this time fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, confectioner's sugar, vanilla extract, strawberry purée and salt over medium-low speed, scraping the bowl until the mixture is smooth. Carefully ice each cupcake with the strawberry cream cheese icing and garnish with a strawberry.
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