This truly is a party in your mouth. A full pound of strawberries are added to a simple buttercream and the result is just short of amazing.
The recipe calls for freeze dried strawberries which can most easily be found in camping departments or stores such as REI. One 1.5 ounce package equals a full pound of strawberries without the juice making them ideal to introduce into a frosting. They need to be powdered in a blender or food processor with about half the powdered sugar.
This buttercream can be used to fill a cake or for cupcakes as I have.
Strawberry Buttercream
1.5 ounce package freeze dried strawberries
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar (200 grams or 7 ounces)
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
Red Food Coloring
Place half the strawberries and about half the powdered sugar in a blender or food processor. Blend or process until all the strawberries are powdered. You will have to stop the machine and stir the mixture several times. Repeat with the second half.
Place the strawberries, powdered sugar, butter and almond extract in a mixing bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the milk. Mix on low until blended; turn the mixer on medium high and beat several minutes, scraping often, to increase the volume and lighten the buttercream.
Add the additional milk, a bit at a time if needed to facilitate the mixing. Add the red food coloring as needed to get a pleasing color.
I used a # 6 open tip in a pastry bag to finish 10 cupcakes with a generous amount of buttercream since in my opinion people eat cupcakes for the frosting not the cake or maybe it’s just me.
It is important to frost the cake or cupcakes several hours before serving as the strawberry buttercream needs time to develop its flavor. But when it does it is beyond wonderful!
Butter used to be butter. Cream was churned and separated into butter and buttermilk. While it is still made that way, where in the world it comes from makes a difference, both in taste and its ability to make laminated doughs rise dramatically. The puff pastry above started out as a 3/8 inch rectangle and rose to a dramatic 3 inches.
Continue reading 
A friend of mine, Danielle Luisi the pastry chef at Annie Gunn’s, came up with this version of a pop tarts, but with different fillings. I can’t thank her enough because they are easy and a very upscale version of this popular treat. Imagine a thick filling of chocolate and raspberrry sandwiched between two pieces of flaky buttery pastry.
