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Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes combine the best of cheesecake but in strawberry cupcake form! Topped with the best white chocolate frosting, they are so easy to make! If you want a low-fuss strawberry cupcake recipe that uses cake mix this is the recipe for you!
Perfect Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
There are times when nothing but from-scratch baking will do, but this is not one of those times. This time we’re taking cake mix, doctoring it up, and turning it into the most amazing Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes.
And the thing is, when you doctor cake mix up no one even knows you used a mix. All we’re doing for this recipe is using the cake mix and dressing it up with strawberry puree, sour cream and then baking the batter with a serious dollop of cheesecake filling.
They look so custom and fancy and well, complicated, but they really aren’t. That is why I love cake mix. Paired with a homemade white chocolate frosting these are EPIC!
Ingredients Needed
This strawberry cheesecake cupcakes recipe has three parts: the strawberry cupcakes, the cheesecake filling, and the white chocolate frosting.
- Room-temperature large eggs
- Room-temperature sour cream
- Melted unsalted butter
- Strawberry cake mix
- Strawberries (fresh or thawed if frozen)
- Room temperature cream cheese (make sure it’s softened to avoid lumps)
- White Chocolate – use a premium baking bar for the best results.
- Heavy Whipping Cream and Butter – to round out the frosting recipe.
How to Make Cheesecake Cupcakes
- Puree the strawberries in a blender until smooth.
- In a large bowl, combine the sour cream with the eggs. Add the butter and mix until combined. Add the cake mix and strawberry puree in batches, alternating between the two, until the batter comes together and is well combined.
- Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the batter into a cupcake pan lined with cupcake liners.
- Mix all of the cheesecake ingredients together until smooth. Drop 1 to 2 tablespoons of this mixture on top of the cupcake batter in the pan.
- Bake the cupcakes for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool them completely before frosting.
- Place the chocolate chips in a large bowl. In a sauce pan, bring the heavy cream to a boil and then pour it over the white chocolate chips. Stir until the chips are melted and smooth.
- Add the butter and stir until it has melted and the mixture is smooth. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, stirring it every 15 minutes.
- Once it’s chilled, beat the mixture on high speed until it’s fluffy and can be piped or spread onto the cupcakes. Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.
Tip From Dorothy
Expert Tips
- You can use frozen strawberries instead of fresh ones but you will need to thaw them first.
- When you blend the strawberries, you will end up with one cup of puree which is more than you need for this recipe. You can store the extra in the refrigerator for up to five days and use it in other recipes. Or, freeze it for up to three months.
- It’s very important to use room-temperature sour cream and eggs. Room temperature ingredients mix better and will combine much easier than if they’re cold. Just leave them sit out for 30 minutes before you use them.
- You can make the cupcakes ahead and freeze them for later. This is really helpful if they’re for an event. Just thaw them and then make the frosting and pipe it onto the cupcakes.
- Once you’ve made the cupcakes store them in the refrigerator if you are not planning to serve them right away. Any leftover cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator, too.
Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting
Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes combine the best of strawberry cheesecake but in cupcake form! They are topped with the best white chocolate frosting and are so easy to make. If you want a low-fuss strawberry cupcake recipe that uses cake mix this is the recipe for you!
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 4 large eggs , room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream , room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter , melted
- 1 (approx 15 ounce) Strawberry Cake Mix
- 1 pound fresh (or frozen and thawed) strawberries , hulled and a little sugar or simple syrup, if needed to make ¾ cup of strawberry puree
For the Cheesecake
- 2 (16 ounces each) packages cream cheese , room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs , room temperature
For the Frosting
- 3 cups white chocolate chips (or 3 (4 ounce) bars premium white chocolate)
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line cupcake tins with paper liners. (The recipe will make about 30-36 cheesecake cupcakes.)
- In a blender, puree the strawberries. You can add a little sugar or simple syrup if they need sweetening or a little juice or water if you need liquid for the blender to work. (This will make about 1 cup of puree. You won’t need all of it.) Set aside.
- Blend eggs and sour cream with a mixer. Make sure they are room temperature first! Add in the butter and mix well. Alternately add cake mix with ¾ cup of strawberry puree until it’s all blended together well. Place about 2 tablespoons of batter in each cupcake liner (I used a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop for this.)
- Make the cheesecake: Mix cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and eggs with a hand mixer until smooth. Drop about 1-2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture on top of the cupcake batter.
- Bake about 15-18 minutes and let cool completely before frosting. (Note: the cupcakes can be frozen once cooled and frosted at a later date.)
- Make the frosting: place the chocolate chips in a large bowl (that will fit in your refrigerator). Bring heavy cream just to a boil in a small saucepan and pour over chocolate chips. Stir until they are melted. Stir in butter until it’s melted. Place the bowl in the fridge and cool for at least 30 minutes, (I left mine about an hour), stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from refrigerator and beat melted chips on high with a hand mixer until it becomes fluffy and ready to pipe or spread. Pipe onto cupcakes. Store cupcakes in refrigerator.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- You can use frozen strawberries instead of fresh ones but you will need to thaw them first.
- When you blend the strawberries, you will end up with one cup of puree which is more than you need for this recipe. You can store the extra in the refrigerator for up to five days and use it in other recipes. Or, freeze it for up to three months.
- It’s very important to use room-temperature sour cream and eggs. Room temperature ingredients mix better and will combine much easier than if they’re cold. Just leave them sit out for 30 minutes before you use them.
- The cheesecake batter might sink a bit in the cupcakes as they bake.
- You can make the cupcakes ahead and freeze them for later. This is really helpful if they’re for an event. Just thaw them and then make the frosting and pipe it onto the cupcakes.
- Once you’ve made the cupcakes store them in the refrigerator if you are not planning to serve them right away. Any leftover cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator, too.
Recipe Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 335kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 65mg | Potassium: 171mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 536IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes are an easy strawberry cupcake made with cake mix and filled with cheesecake filling! They have a white chocolate frosting and are the perfect strawberry cupcake recipe!
Oh my goodness this looks amazing! Thanks for sharing. xo
Girl, we are sharing brainwaves! I made strawberry cheesecake cupcakes last week too. (Actually almost used those exact same liners.) At 11:00 at night I was debating whether those Sara Lee bites would be good baked into a cupcake and if I should go to the store to buy some. (Had to have them ready for my son’s teachers the next morning.) I fell asleep deciding and they had to settle for cheesecake frosting. 😉 I love the idea of cheesecake baked in.
ps- Hate strawberry chunks in baked goods… (mushy & metallic the next day… ewww)
I love the bloggy wavelength. 🙂 Thanks for reading!
Yum! Those look so good and summery! Here in Namibia, I can hardly find strawberries and they’re really tiny. 😛 Thanks so much for linking up to Sweet Saturdays {#5}! Hope to see you again next week! Have an amazing day:) -Sophie
My daughter would starve, lol. Thanks Sophie!
Yum, yum and more yum!!! These look incredible! What a wonderful Improv Challenge recipe…another must try from your blog 🙂
Dorothy, These look and sound delicious! I love strawberries and cheesecake. Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday this week. Have a wonderful weekend.
Michelle
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