Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes (noun): [straw-ber-ee cheez-keyk kuhp-keyks] A vanilla cake scattered with fresh cut strawberries atop a thin graham cracker crumb base, filled with a strawberry cheesecake center and topped with a rich and sweet cream cheese frosting.

These are one of my momma’s favorites. 🙂

There are times when I get tired just thinking about making cupcakes from scratch. This was one of those times. There’s no shame in using a boxed cake mix, especially since there are countless ways to put your own spin on it. These cupcakes have a lot going on as it is without adding in the time or stress of mixing up a good batch of cake from scratch. The fresh strawberries, vanilla cake, and cream cheese icing make these great for a summer occasion.

INGREDIENTS:

CUPCAKES:

• 1 box golden vanilla cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
• 3 eggs*
• Oil*
• Water*
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup diced strawberries

*(Or whatever is called for on the boxed mix you use)

FILLING:

• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 1 egg white
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons strawberry jam

FROSTING:

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• heavy cream can be added if the frosting is too stiff

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Make the cake mix according to the directions on the box.

• Dice the strawberries until you have 1 cup.

^ Photo cred for that beauty goes to Bruno.

• Gently fold the strawberries into the cake batter.

• Now start on the cheesecake filling! Beat together the cream cheese, egg white, sugar, and vanilla.

• Add 2 tablespoons of strawberry jam and beat together.

• Line a cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake papers.
• Crush the graham crackers either with a food processor or by putting them in a Ziplock bag and beating them senseless.

• Put a layer of graham crackers at the bottom of each cupcake paper, making it thin but covering the bottom.

• Fill the the cups a little more than halfway with the cake batter. I found that the cheesecake sinks a bit to the bottom so it’s better to add it closer to the top.

• Add in a heaping spoonful of the cream cheese mixture.
• Top off with the remaining cake mix.

• Place in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until the top looks very lightly browned. (The inserted knife method may not work because of the cream cheese)

• Make the icing!
• Beat together the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
• Slowly add in the confectioners sugar, one cup at a time.
• Add in the vanilla extract and beat to combine.
• If the frosting is too stiff, add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream and beat together.
• If it is too runny, ad some more confectioners sugar.

• Once the cupcakes are cool, ice them!
• Slice up some extra strawberries and add them on top for an added touch.
• I also sprinkled some extra graham cracker crumbs on top.

• Keep these in the fridge until ready to serve!

• Eat em, serve em, love em.

• Finally, find a cute little black kitten to help you clean up all the graham cracker crumbs you spilled.

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Tags: cream cheese, cream cheese icing, cupcakes, strawberries, vanilla

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