Strawberry cupcakes... a pregnant Craving...

Last year I went to a surprise birthday party for a friend. The lovely gal organizing the party requested us to make cupcakes. I brought strawberry, my sister's favorite. This recipe is far from healthy and not my usual kind of cooking. You can make this as vegan as you would like or not. I'll post the original and give some variations. 
A few weeks ago at work, my co-worker said his wife hasn't stopped talking about those cupcakes ever since that party. He said she mentions them at least once a month. She's currently pregnant with her first child. I told him not to tell her but I'm going to make them and surprise her with them! 
She was very happy about them. They are pretty tasty!

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

1 pkg white cake mix*
1/3 C. oil*
3 eggs* (or Ener-G egg replacer)

1/2-3/4 pkg strawberry jello (or vegan jello)

1 pkg frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed

*or instead, you could make your favorite white cake from scratch and add in the jello and strawberries, following the directions below. Just be sure you omit the oil and eggs if you are using your own cake recipe.

Preheat oven 350°F. Mix cake mix with jello powder. Add oil and eggs. Mix well. Add berries, reserving 1/2 C. juice. Put batter in greased cupcake tins with liners or 2 prepared round 8" cake pans. Bake about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when poked through center. 

Let cupcakes cool and then ice with frosting.

Icing

1 3 oz pkg cream cheese (or vegan)

2 T. margarine 

1-2 1b. confectioners sugar

1/2 C. reserved strawberry juice

Beat cream cheese, margarine and juice well. Slowly add in confectioner's sugar until smooth and easy to spread but not too runny. 

I made this as a layered cake for my sister's bridal shower. Everyone loved it! It's such a fun, girly color. You can make this recipe as healthy as you would like to. The real strawberry slices in there really kick it up. Definitely much tastier than boxed strawberry cake mix. 

The weather here has been very hot. Our garden is springing up tomatoes, flowers, roses, and herbs. We could just use some rain. Soon I will be using these beautiful tomatoes in a tasty dish... more to come! 

Chef Teebs