May rains and warm afternoons have strawberry plants blossoming with promising yields.
I’ve had my mind on cupcakes since last month’s April 5 intramural cupcake contest at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond when I awarded secondary honors to student Sydney Small for her strawberry cupcake batter top with luscious strawberry frosting. Made with fresh strawberry purée for a delectable cake, flecks of freeze-dried strawberries are the secret to the incredible aromatic frosting.
During a recent Saturday morning farm breakfast last month, my cousin Jackie Kay, who lives with her husband Gene in neighboring Wheatfield, dropped by, and we were chatting about her latest baking adventures. Jackie Kay’s late parents, my Uncle Junior (my mom’s brother) and Aunt Melvina, were always favorite visitors to our farm and always arrived with both baked goods and wonderful stories, both traditions continued today by Jackie Kay.
For this latest visit, Jackie Kay was focused on the subject of snakes.
Despite our many trees, fields, ditches and gardens, even during my youth, snakes were not a common sight, and the same holds true today. Despite their less-than-favorable serpent depiction of “all that is evil” rooted in biblical passages, snakes are beneficial for ridding the landscape of pests such as rodents and insects.
Since the early 1960s, the most prominent focal point concrete fixture in the side-yard landscaping at our farm is a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, hands outstretched and standing on what is clearly the round base symbolization of the earth and heavens, complete with stars. Under Mary’s foot is the head of a coiled serpent, representative of her heavenly dominion’s power of good over evil. Even as a curious child, and still today, the serpent representation at the base of this garden statue stands out. This piece of garden statuary is 70-plus years old and even pre-dates Vatican II.
In the case of Jackie Kay’s snake sake, she said she’s found that rubber snakes make an ideal deterrent to pesky sparrows who are eager to build their nests under the eaves and around the exposed beams of her carport.
“I went to the dollar store we have in Wheatfield, and I bought a couple of rubber snakes and set them up in the areas where I had taken down the sparrows’ freshly built nests,” Jackie said.
“And you know, it worked and the sparrows wouldn’t go anywhere near those two rubber snakes. But instead, they built three more nests further down. So, I went back to that dollar store and they were out of rubber snakes. But I went to the other dollar store in Wheatfield and bought the last three rubber snakes they had, went home, took down the three new nests and put the rubber snakes in the same spots. I’m not about to hang any more rubber snakes in my garage.”
According to the Purdue University Extension Office, even more threatening than a snake being a natural enemy of egg-laying sparrows, the domestic cat is the most prominent predator of sparrows, which must evade hungry felines. Mom and Dad’s suggestion for Jackie Kay is to give a pair of kittens a home and work environment to ward off wary, messy nest-making sparrows.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa @comhs.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
Sydney’s Strawberry Cupcakes
Makes 16 cupcakes
Batter:
1/2 pound strawberries reduced to 1/4 cup strawberry purée
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk, room temperature
Frosting:
1 cup freeze-dried strawberries
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
6 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled
1/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Purée 1/2 pound of strawberries and simmer over a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until reduced by half. Allow to cool completely.
2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line 12-cup muffin pan(s) with cupcake liners, set aside.
3. Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together and set aside.
4. Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamed, about 2 minutes. Scrape bowl as needed.
5. Beat in the egg whites on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
6. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract.
7. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
8. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour and mix in the milk until just combined. Do not overmix.
9. Whisk in the 1/4 cup of reduced strawberry purée. Batter will be slightly thick.
10. Pour/spoon the batter into the liners about 2/3 full.
11. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
15. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
16. While cupcakes are cooling, to make frosting, place chopped white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after every 20 seconds until completely smooth.
17. Set it aside to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes. 18. Using a blender or a food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a powdery crumb to amount to around a 1/2 cup.
18. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for one minute then switch the mixer to low speed and slowly add powdered sugar and strawberry powder.
19. Add the melted white chocolate to butter/sugar mixture and combine until smooth, adjusting mixer to medium speed and beating for two minutes
20. Add cream, salt and vanilla extract and beat for one minute and add heavy cream as needed if consistency of mixture is too thick. Add salt for desired taste.
21. Frost cooled cupcakes and serve.
