Strawberry and white chocolate cupcakes

Method
Prep:25min  ›  Cook:25min  ›  Extra time:1hr cooling  ›  Ready in:1hr50min 

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven at 180 C / Gas 4. Line two 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.
2. Cream the margarine and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time with a little of the flour mixing well to avoid curdling. Add the remaining flour, stir well until smooth.
3. Mix in the vanilla paste, chopped strawberries and jam, stir well until all combined. Spoon the mixture evenly into the paper cases, filling only to half way to ensure a good rise.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack, about 1 hour.

For the white chocolate buttercream:

5. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a bowl over barely simmering water then remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Beat together the margarine and icing in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the milk and melted chocolate until its all well combined and set aside.

To decorate:

6. Using a sharp knife cut out a cone shaped piece in the middle of each cupcake. Fill in the hollows with about a teaspoon of jam and place the cone shaped piece back lightly on top.
7. Pipe the buttercream over the cupcake covering the cone, cut the strawberries in half and place one over the buttercream. Enjoy!

Tip

For best results margarine should be at room temperature. If you try it with other fruits let me know. My daughter loved helping out with these cupcakes, preparing, baking and eating them!