What is it about strawberries and cream that just makes you feel so good? It even sounds fancy…..Strawberries and Cream  For some reason, it always makes me want champagne…… It’s such a wonderful combination and then there is the aroma of a good ripe strawberry. Then you add to that, a soft, light white cupcake and you have pure bliss. I am drooling as I write this…I was drooling when I made these. Today is cupcake day at the office again. My boss buys these from me as a treat to his staff. Pretty cool, right? Since he rarely eats treats, I tried to convince him that these were healthy……after all, fresh strawberries are good for us!! I told him I was taking care of his staff by bringing in healthy cupcakes. He laughed and walked away…..oh well, I tried.
So, back to the cupcake. White cupcake, filled with strawberry cream filling, topped with a fluffy white clouds of frosting. M-m-m-m-m-mmmmm. They are pillowy soft and light. OH MY.
Use any white cake recipe you want, but I used my White Velvet Cake recipe. Oh! and then I made a giant cupcake too, for a friend’s birthday. Happy Birthday Diana.

Strawberries and Cream Cupcake
1 cup all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 325. Sift all dry ingredients together. Set aside. Grease and flour 2 round cake pans, lined with parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, beat the oil, shortening and vanilla. Beat till light and fluffy. Add the eggs. Fold in the dry stuff alternately with the buttermilk, starting with the dry and ending with the dry. DO NOT OVER BEAT. Be kind. Pour into muffin pans and bake for about 14-15 minutes. Poke with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, its done. Place on cooling rack and cool completely. Scoop out a bit of the middle of each cupcake for the filling.
All those little cupcake “innards” can be popped into your mouth!!!! how fun, right??

Strawberry Filling

Approx 2 cups of cut up fresh strawberries
4 oz of cream cheese
2 cups of powdered sugar
With a mixer, whip the cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Add a little more powdered sugar if its too thin. (the strawberries will make it thinner) Fold in the strawberries. Drop a spoonful in each cupcake.
Frost with whip cream. You don’t want a real heavy sweet frosting because you have that sweetness in the middle of the cupcakes. Top with some more strawberry filling and a strawberry……there you have it….PURE YUM-mmmmmm