These easy and delicious strawberries and cream cupcakes start with a cake mix. The whipped cream frosting is not overly sweet and tastes amazing. A perfect treat for Valentine’s Day or any day!  

One of the cake recipes I get asked for most often is my strawberry cake. I realized I had not yet posted it and shared it with you!  The cake starts with a cake mix, but it gets doctored up and comes out with lots of strawberry flavor, super moist and delicious! The cake pairs perfectly with my Whipped Cream Frosting (one of the most popular recipes on my blog!) For these cupcakes I used vanilla Jell-O instant pudding instead of cheesecake flavor, but either would be delicious. I think these might tie with vanilla cupcakes as my favorite.

A fresh strawberry on top of these cupcakes makes them perfect. Strawberries have always been on of my favorite fruits. One of the cherished memories I have of my grandma is picking strawberries at her home in Michigan in the summers. She had the best strawberries. Home-grown strawberries just burst with so much flavor and I think the Michigan soil makes them taste even better. I sure miss my grandma and grandpa, and I’m grateful I have those memories to look back on!  I plan on planting strawberries once we have a garden.

Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

1 box Pillsbury Strawberry cake mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
2 tablespoons Jell-O instant pudding vanilla mix (Use the rest of the mix to make the Whipped Cream Frosting)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped small (I usually mash them with a fork)

Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 muffin tins with paper liners or spray with cooking spray. In a large bowl add the cake mix, water, oil, eggs, Jell-O, sour cream and strawberries. Mix until well combined. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full with batter and bake for 22-24 minutes until lightly golden and cake springs back. Allow to cool completely.

Frost with Whipped Cream Frosting using the rest of the Jell-O pudding mix minus the 2 tablespoons used in the cake, and top with a sliced strawberries. Enjoy!