Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes

Hot on the heels of the great Strawberry Vanilla Freezer Jam making extravaganza, we had Tate’s First Birthday Brunch.  I hacked a simple boxed mix and made strawberry vanilla cupcakes that were a huge hit.  I made them again for her actual birthday.  Now, you don’t have to make your own, but definitely use a good quality jam here.  It will make a huge difference in taste.  You can probably use any flavor jam you’d like actually, but the strawberry was really really good. 

 

You will need:

• box of white cake mix
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup of canola oil
• 4 t of vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract – I used DIY Bourbon Vanilla
• strawberry jam – I used Strawberry Vanilla Freezer Jam

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Add the cake mix, sour cream, eggs, oil, and vanilla to a bowl.  Beat with a mixer for 3-4 minutes on medium.  Batter will seem thick. 

At this point, I dump the entire bowl into a gallon sized freezer bag and snip off the corner.  It makes filling cupcake liners really quick and easy, but you can also just spoon batter into the liners.  I fill about 1/3 full, then top with a heaping teaspoon {or two if you like them really fruity} of strawberry jam.  Then top with another small bit of batter.  The jam doesn’t have to be fully covered.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Cool completely and frost.