Strawberry Cupcakes with Whipped Cream/ Cream Cheese Frosting

 

I'm writing this one down because I definitely don't want to forget it! These were GREAT. I got the recipe from www.theburghbaby.com I'm sure they are perfect as written, but I didn't have angel food mix, but I did have a box of strawberry cake. Really, I don't think the cake is important. The fruit center was awesome and the icing is one to write home about. Oooh, that icing.

Make these - you won't be disappointed!

We have an overabundance of peaches right now from our neighbor's tree, so I'm going to make these again using those, but adding ginger,cinnamon and nutmeg to the centers...I have a feeling they are going to be out of this world.

Use any cake recipe you'd like - here's the recipe for the filling and icing (mmmm) taken directly from it's original source http://www.theburghbaby.com/burghbaby/strawberry-shortcupcakes.html

Strawberry Filling
1 quart fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons white cornstarch
3/4 cup water

1. Divide the diced strawberries into two mostly equal piles. Place half aside and place the other half into a medium saucepan.

2. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add to the saucepan.

3. Add 1 cup sugar to the saucepan and stir everything up. (If your strawberries are super sweet, feel free to reduce the quantity of sugar in the sauce.)

4. Heat on medium heat until the strawberries are soft. Use a immersion blender or potato masher to mash the larger pieces of strawberry. It's OK if there are some chunks of strawberry in the end, but you don't want it to be super lumpy.

5. Allow the strawberry sauce to cool. Add the remaining (raw) chopped strawberries to it and mix.

Whip Cream Icing
1-8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups heavy cream

1. Throw your creamed cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract into a large mixing bowl.

2. Use an electric mixer on low speed to mix everything up. Once the sugar is well dissolved, begin adding the heavy cream a little at a time. Increase to medium speed. Keep mixing and adding heavy cream until you have "peaks" of icing.