Lemon Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Lemon Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes!  Whew, what a mouthful!  These tasty treats are perfect when you want something a little more than the ordinary everyday cupcake.  They are a nice blend of lemon and strawberry and the cream cheese makes them so they are not too sweet.  Delicious!

Lemon Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes:

Ingredients:
CAKE:
1 box lemon cake mix (you can make your own batter from scratch, but I'm trying to keep this blog simple)
Eggs, water, and oil called for on cake mix box
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup strawberry jam
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
red food coloring, optional
FROSTING:
1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup strawberry jam
1/4 tsp lemon extract
1 lb. powdered sugar
red food coloring, optional


Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pans with cupcake liners.  Make the lemon cake mix according to package directions.
2.  In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.  Add jam, egg, sugar and about 4 drops of food coloring, if desired.  Beat until smooth.
3.  Fill cupcake liners 1/3 full with cake batter.  Add a spoonful of cream cheese batter and then fill with remaining cake batter until the cupcake liners are about 3/4 full.  Bake for 16-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle of a cupcake comes out clean.  Let cool completely before icing.
4.  For the frosting beat cream cheese and butter in mixing bowl until fluffy and smooth.
5.  Add jam, lemon extract, and 4 drops of food coloring, if desired, and mix well.  Gradually add powdered sugar, a little at a time, until desired thickness and consistency.
6.  Frost cupcakes and place them in the refrigerator to set.  Keep them refrigerated.



**If the jam is too sweet for you try thawing some frozen strawberries and then pureeing them in a food processor instead of the jam.**