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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes


Me and box cake mixes have become BFF's. Not that we weren't friends before, but I've been using them a lot more than usual. I had a hankering for some chocolate cake the other day and made one. It was delicious.

This week, I've added strawberries to my BFF circle. I want strawberries every. minute. of. the. day. They are not my usual go to fruit in the winter months, but the past few days, I can't shove them in my mouth fast enough. So I thought, why not set my two latest food cravings on a delicious date.

The outcome? My stomach wed them in holy matrimony. 

Three times. 


STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE CUPCAKES
1 box yellow or white cake mix (plus ingredients to make the cupcakes)
1 pound FRESH strawberries, washed, hulled, and chopped into small pieces*

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1 package cream cheese
¼ cup butter
2½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

TOPPING
3 digestive biscuits or graham crackers, finely chopped

*I recommend using a hand chopper to get bite size strawberries.


Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two 12-cup muffin tins. Combine ingredients according to back of cake mix box to make cupcake batter. Spoon about 1 Tablespoon of batter into the bottom of each muffin cup.


Add about 1-2 tablespoons chopped strawberries to the top of batter.


Top with cake batter (roughly 2-3 tablespoons), covering strawberries completely.


Bake for suggested time frame of back of box. (I used Duncan Hines and my cupcakes took about 17 minutes). Allow to cool completely.

Pipe or smear cream cheese frosting over cooled cupcakes. Add cookie crumbs. The crumbs are essential for giving it the 'cheesecake' effect. Top with a strawberry slice.

Yields: 24 cupcakes

Happy Baking!