Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting OR Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting, 03/10

First off, a bit of a self serving moment--HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. That's right, the big 3-0 and I can't even eat birthday cake. Believe me, I will be freezing a few of these babies to enjoy in April. Well, the reason for strawberry cupcakes is that strawberry is my favorite flavor, and having made these cupcakes before (they are the Sprinkles Bakery recipe, as given to Martha Stewart), I can vouch for their deliciousness. The frostings vary because I had some leftover strawberry frosting (also from Sprinkles via Martha) but wanted to try a yummy sounding recipe in 125 Best Cupcake Recipes, Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream. YUMMY. Well, my mistake in substituting an ingredient might have made it less cream cheese-y but that is the lesson I will have learned. While it called for strawberry jam, I decided to just use pureed strawberry for a "healthier" alternative. Well, unbeknownst to me, strawberry puree is more liquid-y than jam (ok I KNEW it but didn't it didn't really cross my mind at that point), so the frosting came out WAY too runny, and I literally had to add about 1 more cup of powdered sugar, so I'm sure it changed the taste a little bit. Next time, I will slowly add the puree, but I do think I will stick to the puree (it just seems more pure, you know?). The comments heard 'round the room was that it tasted like a strawberry smoothie. Good to know!! Well, these are my birthday cupcakes, happy birthday to me, and while everyone else celebrates it today, I'll celebrate April 8th!! :)