Directions

1Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.

2Place all of the ingredients except the strawberries into a large bowl then beat with an electric mixer just until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

3Add the diced strawberries and fold through.

4Spoon the batter evenly between the cupcake papers in the prepared muffin tin. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25-28 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes in the muffin tin, then remove cupcakes and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

5For the strawberry coulis, purée the strawberries in a blender then pour into a small saucepan. Add a squeeze of lemon juice then cook over medium heat until reduced by half. Stir often. Set aside to cool completely.

6For the buttercream, beat the butter until smooth and light in colour. Add the icing sugar, vanilla, salt and hot water then beat on low speed until frosting becomes creamy. Add the cold strawberry coulis and mix well.

7To decorate the cupcakes, fill a large piping bag with the strawberry buttercream fitted with a large piping tip of your choice (we used a star nozzle).

8Pipe a swirl of buttercream on top of each cupcake then decorate with a strawberry half.