Berry Explosion Cupcakes and Newflower Wilting

So I had some berries. I had some crème fraîche. I came up with a simple cupcake that John has affectionately named Berry Explosion. They will be debuting tomorrow at the Yogurt making party, but here's the preview and recipe for those who can't make it. Full recipe and pics here.







Ingredients

	2 cups sugar
	4 eggs
	2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
	1 cup milk
	3/4 cupvegetable oil
	2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
	1 teaspoon vanilla
	1/4 cup lemon juice
	8 oz crème fraîche
	1/2 cup powdered sugar (divided)
	2 pints black berries (washed and dried)
	2 lbs strawberries (washed and dried)

Procedures

1. In a bowl, mix crème fraîche in a bowl with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and just a splash of vanilla. Return to fridge.
2. In another bowl, dice strawberries into tiny 1/4 inch pieces (after removing tops of course). Or you can pulse gently in a food processor/chopper. You do not want to puree it. You want strawberry chunks. Mix with the other 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and store in the fridge.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. This makes at least 36 cupcakes. In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs together until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add flour, milk, oil, baking powder, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat for another minute, just until the batter is smooth and creamy. Don't overbeat. Pour batter into the prepared cupcake pans. Fill each cupcakes about 1/3 to 1/2 way up. I personally like to leave a generous amount of space on top of this cupcake as the fruit will slip in slide. I made these cupcakes shorter so that the fruit will sit inside the paper liner without making it too difficult to eat. Bake in preheated oven for 17-20 minutes or until the tops are golden. The top of the cupcakes will be springy to the touch. Allow to cool completely before adding the fruit.
4. The strawberries should be nice and sloshy now that the sugar has pulled out some of the liquid. Spoon a small amount of the strawberries on top of each cupcake being careful to drain most of the liquid out so that you don't get a cupcake soup. I'm planning on using my left over strawberry juice to make pancake fruit sauce or you can toss it. Then spoon a small amount (1/3-1/2 a teaspoon) of crème fraîche on top of the strawberries and top with a blackberry.

For these cupcakes, I visited Newflower Market twice. I had such a terrible experience there that I felt compelled to review it. Apparently, the scales that weigh bulk food and produce at register 8 was "inaccurate" in the store's favor. This seems highly unethical to me. Review here.