Strawberry-Vanilla Cupcakes filled with White Chocolate Ganache

Vanilla cupcakes...

Filled with white chocolate ganache...

Topped with a delightful strawberry buttercream frosting...

Now that I have your attention, let me tell you about these springtime beauties. :)

My hubby called me at work a couple weeks ago because his office announced a bake sale they were hosting to raise money for Relay for Life. "Would you want to bake something for it?" he asked. Hmm, would I want to bake something... absolutely, yes! Would I want to bake something to help raise money for a great cause... most definitely, yes!! After hanging up the phone, I instantly started brainstorming what to bake. The sale was categorized as a Spring Bake Sale, so I immediately thought of strawberries. I figured cupcakes would be a nice addition to any dessert table, so I went with it... I decided to make vanilla cupcakes with strawberry frosting. It wasn't until the day before baking that I decided to add a little extra sweetness by filling them with ganache. White chocolate and strawberries - YUM!

Since people were going to purchase the cupcakes, I didn't want to get too experimental. I made vanilla cupcakes which I've made before because I knew they were tasty. I doubled the recipe, so that I would have 24 cupcakes, and used 4 large eggs (instead of separating a lot of yolks). I ventured out with the frosting and tweaked it until I found just the right flavor (delightful!). The frosting was definitely my favorite part of these cupcakes! Now I'm on a mission to find the perfect strawberry cake to go along with it. :)

These cupcakes were so delicious! It was hard to part with all of them. Matt came home with great feedback from his office, so I know I'm not the only one who swooned over these babies. :) This is an excellent dessert for any springtime party. Whip up a batch, and your friends won't leave until they've finished off the last one. So tasty! 

Below are the recipes for the ganache and frosting...

Ingredients

Yields enough frosting and ganache for 24 cupcakes

Ganache:

1/4 cup whipping cream

4 oz white chocolate, chopped

Frosting:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3-4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

4 oz fresh strawberry puree

2 tbsp whipping cream

Directions

For the ganache... Place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small sauce pan, bring cream to a boil. Pour boiling cream over chocolate; let stand for a couple of minutes. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Cover and refrigerate to thicken. 

For the frosting... In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer to low speed. Gradually add in 3 cups of sugar, and mix until well blended. Add vanilla, strawberry puree, and whipping cream; blend until well combined. Gradually add (up to) an additional cup of sugar until you reach your desired consistency. 

To assemble cupcakes... cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of the cupcakes. Gently cut off the tip of the cone. Fill the cupcake by spooning the ganache into the center of the cake. Replace the top of the cone over the filling. Frost cupcakes.

Source: frosting adapted from My Baking Addiction, ganache adapted from Martha Stewart