Wimbledon Strawberry Cupcakes!

Strawberry sponge, vanilla buttercream frosting, and more strawberries… perfect cupcakes to celebrate Wimbledon!

Wimbledon celebration

Today marks the start of Wimbledon 2016, and I couldn’t let it pass without sharing a suitably summery bake. While tennis-themed cupcakes might be a little niche, strawberries felt like the obvious and safest choice for a Wimbledon-inspired recipe.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked for recipe requests over on my Facebook page and strawberry cupcakes came up again and again. It makes complete sense as well, because strawberry season is in full swing and fresh English strawberries at this time of year are just unbeatable.

These cupcakes are light, fresh, and perfect for enjoying while watching a match in the sunshine. They feel celebratory without being over-the-top, which makes them ideal for Wimbledon or any summer gathering.

Strawberry sponge

I decided that I would try and go for a strawberry flavoured sponge to make it different to my other cupcake recipes such as my berry & pistachio cupcakes which have a strawberry buttercream frosting instead.

Using the strawberry jam in the sponge gives it a slight flavour of strawberry, but make its so light and fluffy that its the perfect amount for these cupcakes. Surprisingly, they baked even better than other cupcakes have done in the past, perfect flat tops automatically and they’re just so delicious.

When I made my Eton mess traybake I used fresh strawberries in the actual sponge, and they were delicious. I love the combination of strawberry and cake, but in cupcake form I prefer the jam as it tends to work better for me compared to a large cake. To be honest though, any of my strawberry recipes, or Eton Mess recipes would be ideal to start the Wimbledon celebrations, but after so much demand I knew these would be perfect as well.

Choice of topping

I would have originally done freshly whipped cream on top of the cupcakes to make them very Wimbledon-y, but then the cakes would obviously have fresh cream on them and would ideally need to be kept in the fridge which is never good for cakes over a few days, which means they’d probably need to be eaten on the day of baking…

So if you want fresh cream cupcakes, it still works incredibly well with these cupcakes as I have done it before if you want to eat them on the day they are made, but if you aren’t, or would prefer making an actual frosting then my vanilla buttercream is the way to go!

Summer decoration

When it comes to decorating these cupcakes, simple really is best. The combination of soft pink sponge, creamy vanilla buttercream, and fresh strawberries already feels very Wimbledon-appropriate without needing anything overly complicated. A neat swirl of buttercream instantly elevates them and makes them look bakery-worthy.

I used a large closed star piping tip to pipe the buttercream, as it gives a classic, elegant finish that holds its shape well. If piping isn’t your thing, you can just spoon the frosting on and gently swirl it with the back of a spoon, they’ll still look beautiful and inviting.

To finish, sprinkle over some freeze dried strawberries for extra flavour and texture, then top each cupcake with a fresh strawberry. This final touch really ties everything together and gives that unmistakable strawberries-and-cream Wimbledon vibe that everyone recognises and loves.

Tips & tricks

• I add my jam into the mix and mix it through so that the cakes turn slightly pink and the sponge then tastes slightly strawberry like – if you don’t want to do this, just make the sponge plain and add the jam in afterwards as like a middle to the sponge.
• You can also use flavourings to make the sponge strawberry like or even fruit coulis, but I love using jam as its so readily available.
• You can buy these utterly gorgeous baking cups.
• These Cupcakes will last in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Wimbledon Strawberry Cupcakes!

Strawberry sponge, vanilla buttercream frosting, and more strawberries... perfect cupcakes to celebrate Wimbledon!

Print Pin Rate

Category: Dessert

Type: Cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 13 minutes minutes

Cooling/Decorating Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 23 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 Cupcakes

Author: Jane's Patisserie

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 150 g unsalted butter / baking spread
• 150 g caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 150 g self raising flour
• 150 g strawberry jam

Vanilla Buttercream

• 150 g unsalted butter (room temp)
• 350 g icing sugar
• 2-4 tbsp double cream
• 1/2T tsp vanilla extract

Decorations

• 12 strawberries
• freeze dried strawberries

Grams - Ounces

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 170ºc /160ºc fan and Line a 12 hole muffin tray with large cupcake cases/muffin cases, or a flat tray with the baking cups. 
• Cream together the butter and caster sugar with an electric beater till smooth – add in the beaten eggs and flour and beat again for about about 20-30 seconds on a medium speed – it really doesn’t take too long, you don’t want to overheat it!.
• Add in the strawberry jam and briefly beat again so the mixture is smooth and the jam is spread throughout! 
• Spoon into your cases evenly and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until cooked through! Leave to cool on a wire rack.
• Once the cakes are cool, make the frosting – beat the softened butter until smooth – this can take a couple of minutes. 
• Add in the icing sugar 1/3 at a time, making sure the sugar is fully incorporated until moving on! I use my KitchenAid for frostings as the machine can make it so much lighter and fluffier!
•  Once all of the sugar is in the frosting mix, keep on beating the frosting but add the vanilla, and then the cream 1 tbsp at a time till you reach your desired consistency! I usually use about 3 spoonfuls!
• Decorate your cupcakes how you like, I used a large closed star tip to pipe on my buttercream, and then sprinkled on my freeze dried strawberries, and then added my fresh strawberry on top!

Notes

• I add my jam into the mix and mix it through so that the cakes turn slightly pink and the sponge then tastes slightly strawberry like – if you don’t want to do this, just make the sponge plain and add the jam in afterwards as like a middle to the sponge.
• You can also use flavourings to make the sponge strawberry like or even fruit coulis, but I love using jam as its so readily available.
• You can buy these utterly gorgeous baking cups.
• These Cupcakes will last in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

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