Difficutly: very easy
Time: 5 Min
Portion: 1 serving
Ingredients:
Makes 24 cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
1 box vanilla cake mix (I used Betty Crocker french vanilla)
1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese, chilled
1/2 cup thawed and drained frozen strawberries (I used fresh strawberries)
1/4 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
Make the cupcakes according to package instructions. Lightly grease the muffin tin and fill the batter almost to the rim of each muffin cup. (I used cupcake liners filling 2/3 full instead.) Bake according to package directions and let cool.
In a food processor combine the mascarpone cheese, strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and lemon juice. Process the mixture until smooth. Transfer the strawberry mixture to a pastry bag (See notes for more details.) fitted with a small tip. (Not sure how small is small but I used a #12 tip.) Push the tip gently into the bottom of a cupcake and squeeze in the strawberry mixture until the cupcake plumps. (I think its easier from the top so I don’t have to take the cupcake liners off.) Continue with the remaining cupcakes.
[NOTES: I used a parchment pastry bag at first but the filling soaked through the parchment paper causing it to rip so I switched to a plastic pastry bag midway through. Maybe fresh strawberries have more water retention vs the frozen?]
In a small saucepan bring the 1/2 cup sugar, water, and vanilla extract to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved. In a medium bowl combine the vanilla syrup with the confectioner’s sugar. Stir until smooth. Working quickly, use a rubber spatula spread the icing on the top of the cupcakes. If the icing begins to firm up, place in the microwave for a few seconds to warm up again. (I garnished with fresh strawberry slices.)