These are scrumptious and have had some requests from friends who had them over here for lunch on Tues. You can actually use any flavored Duncan Hines Cake mix. I like to use this recipe with either the Strawberry, Lemon or Chocolate Fudge. If you use this with the Chocolate Fudge, I add about 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips to the cream cheese mixture before dolloping it onto the cake mix. See below:
Make the cake mix according to the directions, except I use milk instead of water. I also add about 1/4 cup extra sugar to the mix before beating. Place about 1/2 cup cake mix into prepared muffin tins (either spraying with Pam or lining with paper cupcake holders). Add about 1 teas of the cream cheese mixture (which follows). on top of the raw dough before baking. Bake according to directions. Cool and frost with either Cream Cheese Frosting or buttercream frosting. I like to use the cream cheese if I am using Red Velvet or Lemon, but the buttercream with the strawberry flavor.
Cream cheese filing:
1 8 oz softened cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 teas vanilla extract
1 large egg
Beat all ingredients until well blended. Drop a teas full of this filling onto each cupcake before baking. Bake according to directions or until the cupcake appears done when it springs bake when making an indention with your finger. Cool and frost.
* I also change and use almond extract sometimes instead of the vanilla if I am doing this with the chocolate cake mix and then add the chocolate chips and then chocolate buttercream frosting instead of the cream cheese.
Buttercream Frosting
1 softened stick of butter (no substitutions)
1 box of powdered sugar
1/3 cup of milk (I use whipping cream or half and half)
1 teas vanilla or almond extract.
Mix until well blended. Sometimes it might require a little more milk or a little less. Do not all the liquid all at once, but as needed to make it spreading consistency.
Chocolate Castles 