(White) Chocolate Rain!

Gosh, life is getting so busy already this summer! Between getting my yard ready, flowers planted, work, two cats, a dog, and a hubby, I find that I hardly have time to bake right now. Like, only a couple treats a week ;) So I'm delving into the Cupcakery archives for an old favorite. Chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate cream cheese frosting and strawberry filling. Mmmmmmmmm....*drool*. Even better, this recipe works great with just about any fruit, cherries, raspberries, blueberries. Basically anything you would pair with a cheesecake :D Perfect for summer time and all of this fresh produce I have!

White chocolate cream cheese frosting and strawberry filling! Yum!

Chocolate Cupcakes
1 box chocolate cake mix (and any eggs/oil/water called for on the box)

Prepare the cake according to the directions on the box and let cool.

Strawberry Filling
1 lb fresh strawberries
1/2 C white sugar (or 1/4 C honey/agave nectar for you healthier people)
1/4 C water

OR
2 C fresh strawberry jam

Wash, dry, and hull strawberries. In a large pot on the stove on medium high heat, mash strawberries with a potato masher. Add sugar/honey/agave and water. Bring to a boil and boil for five minutes or until you reach a jelly consistency. Be careful to keep stirring otherwise the bottom will scorch. Ew.
Let cool.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
16 oz softened cream cheese (that's two bricks)
8 oz white chocolate (melted)
2-3 C powdered sugar
1 T vanilla
Cocoa powder


In a large mixing bowl combine the softened cream cheese and melted white chocolate. Add vanilla. Clear vanilla is best as it won't alter the color of this white frosting, but regular brown vanilla is totally cool too. I like to use Madagascar or Tahitian for frostings. Slowly add the powdered sugar. The amount depends on how stiff you need the frosting. As you can see in the picture above, I kept mine fairly soft.

Put the cupcakes together:
Take the unfrosted cupcakes and poke a decent sized hole in the top, just not all the way down to the liner. Using a spoon, bag or piping bag fill the holes with the strawberry deliciousness. Now either spread the frosting on with a knife or pipe it on. I used a large round tip for these ones since the frosting was too soft to hold the edges of a star tip. I dusted mine with cocoa powder. A slice of fresh strawberry on top would be awesome too!

What's your favorite fruit to use with cakes?