I HAD to take a break from working this week to whip up some cupcakes for Valentine's Day. Granted, I had to row an extra 2000m in order to enjoy one, but they are worth it. I asked K1 what kind of cupcakes she wanted me to make for her class, and she requested something with strawberries. So wandering around the baking isle, looking at the various pudding mixes, I stumbled across and idea that brought The Hubs to his knees. Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes.
I didn't want the cupcakes to just be strawberry flavored. I wanted chunks of strawberries in rich, white cake. Adding cheesecake pudding and lemon extract gives it a little sour taste, but not too much. Add the cream cheese frosting, and the cupcakes become something between cake and cheesecake. The combination of the sour and sweet flavors makes them rich.
Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 pint ripe strawberries, washed
1 box white cake mix
1 small box Jello® cheesecake pudding
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
4 eggs
Cream Cheese Frosting
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Chop strawberries into small pieces. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer, combine cake mix and pudding. Mix on low to combine. Add sour cream, water, oil, vanilla, lemon extract, and eggs. Mix on low speed until all ingredients are incorporated. Do not over mix. Using a spatula, fold in strawberries.
4. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.
5. While cupcakes are cooling, prepare frosting. Pipe onto top of cupcakes. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Makes 24 cupcakes