Strawberry and Cream Cupcakes

Probably along with a lot of you, cupcake wars is a favorite in our household. My seven and four year old daughters ask every Saturday if Cupcake Wars is new the next day and what it is about. We generally don't watch TV on Sunday so we always record it and then watch it on Monday when my kids get home from school. It is a really fun tradition that we have started. Lately, even when playing with play-doh, their imagination usually takes the form of cupcakes.

I decided to try a new cupcake I had seen in Betty Crocker and my girls started helping out. When it was time to try the batter, it needed something. We quickly started pretending we were on the show, jumping around, yelling, "What does it need? What does it need?"

My oldest daughter quickly named this her favorite cupcake I have ever made. When she said that, I knew I had to add this to the blog, just for her!

Strawberry and Cream Cupcakes

Slightly adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist white cake mix

1 1/4 C strawberry carbonated beverage (such as Fanta, Crush, or I used Faygo!)

Vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box

about 5-6 big strawberries or to taste, chopped

Frosting:

Red food color

1 container (1 lb) Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy cream cheese frosting

candy sprinkles

Fresh strawberries, if desired (my kids ate the ones I was planning on garnishing the cupcakes with)

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for cupcakes, substituting carbonated beverage for the water and using oil and egg whites. After tasting the batter, it didn't have a huge strawberry flavor so I chopped up about 6 really big strawberries and added them to the batter. It adds a little texture and flavor.

Cool 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Stir 1 or 2 drops red food coloring into frosting. Frost cupcakes.

Add whatever garnish you would like, be it sprinkles, fresh strawberries, or the like. Enjoy!