Roasted Strawberry Puree

1. Preheat oven to 400F/205C. Cut your strawberries. Depending on the size of the strawberries I either cut them in half for smaller ones or slice them in thirds for larger berries. Place the berries on a baking sheet and sprinkle granulated sugar on top, shake them around to evenly coat the berries.

2. Roast for ten minutes then flip the berries and roast for an additional 10 minutes. Let cool for at least ten minutes before attempting to puree them.

3. When cooled place roasted strawberries in a food processor or blender and blend until a smooth puree is formed. Now you could use this as it is now or you can reduce it to concentrate the flavor.
4. To reduce strawberry puree place it in a small pot over low-medium heat and cook it for 5-15 minutes, stirring frequently. This batch of roasted strawberries made about 5oz of strawberry puree and I reduced it down to 3oz. 

Strawberry Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C and line a cupcake tin with liners, set aside.
2. In a medium size bowl combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the butter for two minutes until light and fluffy. Add the vegetable oil, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure the butter and oil fully combine.
4. Add the granulated sugar to the oil/butter and mix for 3 to 4 minutes. Next, add the egg, mix until fully combined then add the yolk and vanilla extract. Then add the strawberry purée, making sure to scrape down the bowl.
5. Add half of the dry mixture, mix to combine, then add half of the buttermilk and repeat the process one more time.  Make sure to not over mix the cupcake batter
6. Scoop each cupcake liner 2/3 full. Bake cupcakes for 14-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in comes out with no wet batter.