Heylo~! It’s the 3rd round of Iron Cupcake: Earth and this month’s special ingredient is CHEESE. So what better cheese than cream cheese?! I know this probably won’t be the most original but I haven’t made cream cheese in a while and this is a perfect excuse. HAHA.
before frosting
So for the cupcake, I decided to use Strawberry Jam. Yes, jam. Why? Well, strawberries aren’t exactly very cheap here and I don’t want them to go all moldy in the fridge because I have the tendency to forget about them.. Hehe.. Now as for the frosting, I had to use Whipped Cream from the can as the heavy cream brand I used and I think the only one available is apparently made in China and you know with all the milk scandal and stuff ;).
Well anyway, I also made some variations on the cupcake like the graham cracker-creamcheese and the cake batter on top and vice versa, as well as just the strawberry batter and a dollop of creamcheese in the middle. Yes, I’m a rather big put-directly-into-the-batter kind of person (remember this?).
Either way you assemble it, the cupcake taste GOOOOOOOD! The cake really tastes like strawberries plus the creamcheese is just delightful and don’t forget that extra crunch from the graham crackers!
Here’s the recipe:
INGREDIENTS:::
Cake batter:
1/4 cup strawberry jam
2 tbsp milk
1/2 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp milk
1/4 cup oil
Graham Cracker Crust:
1/2 cup graham crackers, crushed (may need more)
1/4 cup butter, melted
Cream cheese filling:
1 cup (1 8 oz. package) cream cheese, room temp.
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon milk
-Preheat oven to 180C
-In a small bowl, heat strawberry jam and milk in microwave for about 30 seconds. Mash the jam and set aside.
-In another small bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt.
-Whisk together butter and sugar. Add egg then vanilla and milk.
-Fold half of dry ingredients. Add oil. Fold rest of dry ingredients. Fold in strawberry-milk mixture.
-Mix melted butter and graham crackers.
-Cream cream cheese. Add sugar and milk.
-Bake for 15 minutes.
Assembly #1: (graham-cheese-batter)
-Mold 1 tbsp of graham crackers onto bottom of cupcake liner.
-Take 1 1/2 tbsp of creamcheese and place it on top of the graham cracker layer.
-Pour about 2 tbsp of strawberry batter on top or until it’s filled.
Assembly #2: (batter-grahams/cheese)
-Pour batter halfway into the liner. Sprinkle some crushed grahams and add a dollop of the creamcheese.
FROSTING:
1/4 cup strawberry jam
Your favorite ready whipped cream in a can
-Heat jam until very soft, let cool.
-Spray whipped cream on the cupcake. Drizzle a bit of the strawberry mixture and garnish with crushed grahams.
So if you like my entry, you can vote for me (;D) on October 26 over at No One Puts A Cupcake In The Corner. And just before you leave, if you’re interested in entering, you have a chance on winning these fabulous prizes:
ETSY artist ART ON THE MENU with her awesome little cardboard cupcake, her link is: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5738002 and a pair of cupcake earrings from Lots of Sprinkles at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281. As an added bonus for October only we have a sassy and sweet T from Bakelove Bakewear, http://www.bakelove.com/cupcake_t-shirt.html. Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; the CUPCAKE COURIER http://www.cupcakecourier.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com .
8 Ounces 