I've been mulling this over in my head for a couple of weeks now and had put it forward to others, and there was a positive response that strawberry trifle stylee cupcakes might be an interesting experiment. I'd had the vision of the cupcake forming the structure for the trifle and the casing for the custard and fruit, with a whipped cream style buttercream and a traditional cherry on the top and sprinkles... Perfect! What more could you want for a summer's afternoon picnic?

I decided that lining the bottom of the cupcake cases with fresh strawberries, then layering the cupcake mixture on top would be a novel way of getting the fruit aspect of the trifle. Then taking out some of the cupcake once it was cooked and filling the hole with a strawberry conserve and topped with fresh custard. I ideally wanted to use a piped whipped cream on top of the cupcakes, but it was warm and the cupcakes were not going to be eaten all at once, so I decided to try out a recipe for an Italian Meringue buttercream, using egg whites and sugar syrup, that I found on CakeJournal. This meant the buttercream didn't also look too yellow and looked more like whipped cream than using a traditional buttercream.

Anyway, this is what happened...

What You'll Need

For the Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcake recipe

Fresh Strawberries

Strawberry Conserve - I use Tiptree or Bonne Maman as they are beautifully fruit

Fresh homemade custard - I cheated this time as I was running out of time and used Bird's Custard powder

For the Buttercream

I've not made Italian Meringue Buttercream before, and think that Louise's recipe on CakeJournal is perfectly presented and easy to follow, so please visit!

If you would prefer a traditional buttercream you'll need Happy Food's basic vanilla buttercream recipe

What You'll Need to Do

Wash and hull your strawberries, then finely slice them so that they will line the bottom of your cupcake cases without taking up too much room. 

Whilst you mix up your cupcakes using the basic vanilla cupcake recipe, place your sliced strawberries on a plate and sprinkle with vanilla caster sugar and place in the fridge until your ready for them.

When your cupcake mixture is ready, line your baking tray with cupcake cases, and then place 3-4 slices of strawberries in the bottom of each case, ensuring that the bottom is completely lined.

Cooking time is the same as the basic recipe, but I'm still experimenting with cooking times and have reduced my time down to 17 minutes at the moment, and the cupcakes rise just right and are not overcooked. I'm also using a fan-assisted oven, so if you are using an alternative oven or aga, your time may still need to be 20 minutes.

As usual when you're happy that the cupcakes are cooked through, leave them in the baking tin to coll down, and then place them onto a wire rack to cool properly. Also don't forget that your cupcakes have strawberries at the bottom that have been cooked too, so they may be a little soft and you'll need to handle them carefully.

When your cupcakes have cooled completely, you will need to cut out a round cone from the top of the each cake. Using a sharp knife remove a core of the cupcake, deep enough so that it can be filled with jam and custard, but not too deep that you go through to the strawberries. Don't eat the piece you've cut out as we'll need it again.

Also before you cut a section out, you might want to pierce the cupcake with a skewer and drizzle a teaspoon or so of sherry over the top of the cakes to get that real boozy trifle style. 

Prepare your custard. I know, I know I cheated with Bird's custard but I was short on time. Next time I make proper homemade custard I promise to post up my recipe. However in the mean time, there is a beautiful traditional vanilla custard available at BBC Good Food

When you have cut out the cupcake, take a teaspoon of strawberry conserve and fill the bottom of your cupcake hole, then on top of that spoon on another tablespoon of custard. The pieces of cupcake that you cut out, level off with a sharp knife, so that you can put the top back on your cupcake.

You'll now want to sort out your buttercream, either using the Italian Meringue style buttercream, or a more traditional buttercream. When you're ready, pipe a nice big swirl of buttercream ontop of your cupcake, sealing the lid onto the custard and jam. Then for that kitsch look add a cherry on the top and cover with sprinkles.

And there you go, your own little piece of strawberry trifle cupcake style!

I hope that you like the cupcakes, I must admit that whilst many people absolutely adore the smooth and silky texture of the italian meringue buttercream, I think I'm more of a traditional buttercream girl at heart. I'd also like to try this out with raspberries instead of strawberries as I think they'll give it a good sharp taste when the fruit is cooked with the mixture. I'm realy pleased with how they turned out... I know I'm biased but I think they look fantastic!