Strawberry Sweet Treat

I made these adorable cupcakes the other day and thought they were too cute not to share with you. And I'm not too proud to say that I cheated and used Trader Joe's Organic Vanilla Bean cake mix either, which is fine in a pinch. But this post is really about the frosting, which is a lovely buttercream confection whipped up with my strawberry jam.





Pretty in pink, and delicious too. What are you making for your sweetheart this Valentine's Day?

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes
Yield: enough to frost an 8-inch layer cake, or 2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup strawberry jam
5-6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 drops red food coloring

Preparation:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer), beat the butter with the strawberry jam until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time and beat until thoroughly combined. Add the food coloring and beat until uniform in color. Spread on top of cake or pipe decoratively onto cupcakes.