Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes

I couldn't find a recipe for these that I liked, so I just modified the Golden Vanilla Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. I will probably continue to play with this recipe since I'd rather have it be more strawberry-y.

I took 12 frozen strawberries, put them in a saucepan with 1/2 c. soy milk and 1/4 c. raw sugar and cooked it til the sugar dissolved and the strawberries were unfrozen. Let it cool down a bit, then puree it in a blender. Measure out 1 c. of it and save the rest to throw into the frosting or you could use it in a smoothie or just use less liquid I suppose. Either way, the cupcakes need 1 c. of liquid, not more than that. If you end up with less than that, just add more soymilk to the finished puree.

To the puree, add 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar and set it aside to curdle a bit. I know that doesn't sound appetizing, but it is a necessary part of the recipe, and the finished cupcake tastes and smells nothing like vinegar. Also, if it doesn't curdle (b/c mine didn't) don't worry about it, it should still be fine.

In a small bowl, sift together:

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

In larger bowl, beat together until fluffy, but not longer than 2 minutes:

1/2 c. vegan margarine
3/4 c. granulated sugar (I used 1/2 c. raw sugar and 1/4 c. granulated sugar, I dunno why)

Then add to that, 2 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp. almond extract
This is another part I will be playing with in the future.. if I can find strawberry extract, I think that will make it more strawberry-y, so if you have it, add 1 tsp of that and 1 tsp of vanilla.

Then alternate beating the flour mixture and the strawberry puree mixture into the butter mixture. Fill your cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20 mins at 350 degrees or until golden on top. Wait a few mins then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For super strawberry-ness, cut a hole out of the top and fill with strawberry preserves. I used a kind that is made with only strawberries and fruit juices. You want something that tastes like all strawberry and not like a mouthful of sugar.

Then top it off with strawberry frosting, I just bought some from the store that didn't have milk or egg products in it. They do exist, so check that out.