These soft Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes have a creamy cheesecake center and fresh homemade strawberry frosting. They are always a hit at any dinner or party we bring them to.
{1} We had a great Easter weekend celebrating our Saviour! Loved spending the day with our church family first, and then getting to see cousins and family for the rest of the day. And you would be so proud of me. I actually took lots of pictures…of people not food. This strawberry chocolate cheesecake will just have to happen again so I can get better pictures.
{2} My hubby and I have started watching Lost on Netflix. Unfortunately for me, I know the ending because it was all over Facebook at the time. Still, it is easy to get hooked, and I want to keep watching more episodes into the wee hours of the night. Â Â
{3} Our crazy dog decided to help herself to over a pound of chocolate from the kids Easter basket’s. IÂ told them to keep it up on a counter or cupboard, but they do not listen. Of course, I know what a thief the beast is. She was acting a little hyper and crazy last night, so we googled and called a 24 hr. vet line to see if there was anything we could do.
We finally decided that for her weight, she would have had to eat a lot more peanut butter Easter bunnies to be really sick. Thank goodness I only bought the cheapo chocolate this year. So since we saved lots of money, I’m thinking shopping trip right? She is totally fine this morning. Thank goodness!
{4} I am giving up sugar for a week or two. This is very hard for my sweet tooth to handle. So far so good, but it has only been one day. LOL! I want to see if it makes a difference in my weight. Sadly that means I can’t bake for that time either because I always find myself taste testing when I am baking. That kinda breaks the no sugar rule.
Now I know some of you are cheering because you think that means no pics to tempt you and make you drool. Well, that’s just not true because I have plenty of ones that I haven’t even shared yet. So, even though I might not be eating these this week, I am still going to share with you.
How about we start with a semi-healthy one. I mean these strawberry cheesecake cupcakes have strawberries fresh fruit and dairy in it. That makes it sorta healthy, right? Just close your eyes when we get to the butter and cream cheese.
If you are still looking for more recipes to use up the fresh strawberries, you need to check out this Strawberry Banana Salad. It is so easy and fresh looking. And I’m totally drooling over these Strawberry Pretzel Squares and this Strawberry Shortcake Cake Roll. Both of those need to happen very soon in our kitchen!
 
These soft Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes have a creamy cheesecake center and fresh homemade strawberry frosting. They are always a hit at any dinner or party we bring them to.
Ingredients
- 1 strawberry cake mix
- 1 - 3.4 ounce instant strawberry pudding mix
- 1/2 cup oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 - 3.4 ounce package instant cheesecake pudding mix
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/4 cups Cool Whip, thawed
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 3/4 cup diced strawberries
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 24 whole strawberries
- 48 graham cracker cookie sticks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners.
- Beat the cake mix, pudding mix, oil, milk, and eggs for 2 minutes. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops spring back. Cool on a wire rack.
- In a small bowl, whisk the milk and pudding mix until creamy and thick. Beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add the pudding and beat again. Fold in the whipped topping.
- Use a cupcake corer or small knife to cut out the center of the cupcakes. Spoon the cheesecake filling into a piping bag with icing tip 12 and fill the centers. Refrigerate while you make the frosting.
- Beat the shortening and butter until creamy. Add the salt, vanilla, and strawberry extract and beat again. Slowly add half the powdered sugar until it is mixed in.
- Place the water and strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree. Pour into the frosting and beat until creamy. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Use a large piping bag and icing tip 1M to swirl the frosting on the chilled cupcakes. Add the cookie sticks and a fresh berry to the top of each cupcake. Refrigerate cupcakes until time to serve. Makes 24 cupcakes.
Leea P says
I made these today for my brother’s birthday. The cupcakes were moist and the filling was delicious but I ended up using store bought frosting. I made the frosting as noted above but it was a disaster. Once I put the preserves in the bowl and mixed it the frosting became runny. It tasted good but there was no way I could have decorated the cupcakes with the frosting. Could it have been the preserves or the fresh strawberries that caused the frosting not to thicken?
Jocelyn Brubaker says
I’m really glad to hear the cupcakes turned out great. I’m not really sure what might have happened with the frosting. I have made it several times and never had a problem with it being thick. I usually have to add water or milk to thin it so I can pipe it on. Were your chopped strawberries juicy?
Heather @ French Press says
what pretty little cupcakes Jocelyn – LOVE the color
Misha says
Just wondering how long the cupcakes can be refrigerated. Can I make them on Friday and wait until Sunday to use them?
Jocelyn Brubaker says
They should be fine in the refrigerator for that long. I would just make sure they are in a tightly sealed container. I hope you enjoy them 🙂
Paula says
These look and sound wonderful. Wondering if you can add any additional strawberry to the batter for extra flavor/texture? Maybe some puree? Or maybe they are perfect as they are!
Jocelyn Brubaker says
You could always swirl some strawberry preserves into each cupcake. I wouldn’t do too much or it could affect baking time.
Ellen says
Wow! So so happy I finally got around to making these (they’ve been on my to do list for a while). I love how you combine using a box mix with fresh ingredients. This frosting is to die for!! One of my favorites for sure =]
Joyce says
Those look amazing! Always looking for new recipes….I get bored easily when baking – LOL.
Cindy Gulden says
Question about the Strawberry-cheesecake-cupcakes: I made these tonight for an event in two days. I followed your recipe for the cupcakes and the batter was very runny and they did not rise much, despite filling them 3/4 of the cupcake liner. I hesitated about putting 1 1/4 C water in the mix since most cake mixes only ask for 1 C. Is it possible there is a mistake on the recipe and you are really only supposed to use 1 C? Thanks!
Jocelyn says
It’s been awhile since I have made these ones, but I do remember the batter being slightly runny, but they always baked up fine. I have a friend from church who makes these all the time too, and she has never said anything about them not baking properly. I am so sorry to hear yours didn’t rise properly for you. Did they taste good though?
Megan says
Hi there! This may be a dumb question, but just wanted to make sure =] when you say “1/2 a package of jello pudding (3.4oz)”, do you mean put in 3.4 oz of pudding mix?
Thanks!
Jocelyn says
No question is ever dumb. I’m sorry that is unclear in the recipe. That just means half of a box of pudding mix. The box of pudding I buy is 3.4 ounces. I hope that helps.
lori says
Hello, would it be very difficult to give the measurements for 12 cupcakes
Jocelyn says
Since this particular recipe uses a box cake mix, it would not be that easy to do just 12. You could always just make the 24 cupcakes and freeze the extra 12. Then just cut the frosting and filling ingredients in half, so you do not have extra.
UmmHamza says
I was thinking of making a cake instead of cupcakes and I wanted to use the cheesecake filling between the layers. Do you think the filling will hold up to the cake or will it be too soft?
Jocelyn says
I think the filling for these cupcakes would be soft to support the cake layers. Here is another cake with filling that I think you might like.https://insidebrucrewlife.com/2016/02/strawberry-mousse-cake/
UmmHamza says
Looks absolutely delicious! Thank you!!! ?
Karly says
These are thee perfect spring treat! And that cream cheese filling? Swoon.
LeAnn Even says
I can’t find strawberry pudding. Do you mean strawberry jello?
Jocelyn says
No, I really mean strawberry pudding. I always buy it at Walmart. If you can’t find it, you can just use vanilla pudding in it’s place.
LeAnn Even says
Thanks. I’ll try some other stores.
Sydni says
I want to make these for my daughter’s birthday. They look fabulous! Under filling ingredients, you have 4 oz. of cream cheese listed twice. I’m assuming that’s a mistake? Thanks for the wonderful looking recipe!
Jocelyn says
Whoops! Sorry about that…I’m fixing it right now. I hope you and your daughter enjoy the cupcakes!
Lorraine says
I just made these for a friend’s baby shower. This icing in one of the best icings I’ve ever tasted! The fresh strawberries add that fresh and “real” taste! Thank you for sharing. It definitely goes into my recipe box!
Jocelyn says
Thank you so much for letting me know how much you liked this frosting! Your comment made my night 🙂
Melissa Snyder says
do these need to be refrigerated?
Jocelyn says
Yes, they need to be refrigerated because of the dairy in the centers. I hope you enjoy the cupcakes!