Big Awesome Cake: Skills to pay bills!

Yesterday I slaved in my kitchen for 12 hours straight baking cupcakes and cookies for a twirling competition at my local middle school. I got three and a half hours of sleep and sore feet, but it was all worth it to see and hear the feedback for my cupcakes! If it weren't for my friend helping me out, I would have pulled an all-nighter!

Within the first couple of hours we sold almost all of my boxes of 6 and a lot of single cupcakes, along with some cookies. An hour before the competition was over, all the boxes were gone and I was almost sold out. So many people came back for more cupcakes and wanted boxes to take them home!

For the twirling competition, I wanted to bake three different types of cupcakes that had flavors that would appeal to girls and moms. I also wanted them to look feminine and girly. Something vanilla, something chocolate, and something a little bit different. Here we have Vanilla cupcakes with Strawberry filling and a Strawberry Buttercream icing, Chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter filling and Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge icing, and Red Velvet cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing.
The Strawberry Vanilla was the absolute best in my opinion, and a lot of people agreed! So I've decided to share a recipe with you, along with my pictures. Enjoy, and comment with questions or feedback!

Make Ahead!!

Strawberry Filling:

1lb Strawberries in syrup. You can make your own simply by cutting strawberries in half and pouring one half to a whole cup of sugar on them. Let them sit out, covered, for a few hours until all sugar is dissolved. VOILA! Strawberries in syrup.
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons of corn starch

Put strawberries with 1cup of syrup in a blender, chop or puree, your preference (chunks make filling cupcakes difficult.) Pour blended strawberries into a pan, add other ingredients and cook until mixture starts to boil. Take off the burner and let cool completely, the mixture thickens as it cools. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Can be used in cupcakes, icing, for toast, biscuits, whatever! Mmmmmm