Strawberry Shortcake Pineapple Cupcakes
This a simple recipe is great for kids. Each child can personalize his own cupcake.
This recipe is wonderful because it uses fresh strawberries which are healthy and absolutely delicious. This is my healthy cupcake. Cupcakes are great but they should not be eaten all the time because of the sugar and fat. But there ways to reduce these and make cupcakes a lot more healthier.
Cupcakes1 box pineapple cake mix
If unavailable, use white cake mix and use pineapple juice from canned pineapples as the liquid.
(add crushed canned pineapples the same way you make pineapple upside cupcakes if you wish)
Filling and Topping:
8 cups stemmed and sliced strawberries (about 5 pints), plus 12 large strawberries, cleaned and stemmed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Use cool whip for a quicker and healthier whip cream.Prepare ingredients according to the directions on the package. Bake in greased cupcake pans or with cupcake papers.
Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove the cupcakes from the pan onto a wire rack and let cool completely, then remove the paper liners.
Make the filling and topping:
In a large bowl, stir together the sliced strawberries and granulated sugar. Let sit for 30 minutes. Some juice will be released as the strawberries sit, and they will shrink to about 6 cups.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form. Using a serrated knife, slice each cupcake into three layers. Place the bottom of each cupcake on an individual serving plate. Spoon 1/4 cup of the strawberries, with their juices, onto each one, then spoon 1/4 cup whipped cream onto each. Top with the middle cupcake layers and repeat with the remaining sliced strawberries and another 1/4 cup whipped cream for each. Some sliced strawberries and whipped cream will spill onto the plates; this is good.
Place the cupcake tops on top and garnish each one with a tablespoon of whipped cream and a whole strawberry. Serve immediately.
Here is the surprise. Before you serve the cupcakes insert an almond Hershey kiss in each cupcake. Don't let the kids see you or else it won't be a surprise. Give them a short little project so you can seal the Hershey Kiss. They'll wonder how it got there. You can use your imagination and come up with your own fairytale about it.
The unfilled cupcakes can be covered and stored for one day at room temperature.
Before they are filled, these cupcakes can be tightly wrapped and frozen for up to a month. Take out as many cupcakes as you need and defrost them still in their wrapping. The quantities below are for about 1/2 cup strawberries and a generous 1/2 cup whipped cream for each cupcake-but more is fine
Close-up of a Strawberry
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