Berry Filled Red Velvet Cupcake

Ingredients

Cupcake

• 15.25 ounce box red velvet cake mix
• 3.4 ounce box instant vanilla pudding
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3 large eggs

Frosting* and Filling

• ~1/2 cup berry fruit spread or preserves
• 16 ounces cream cheese room temperature
• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6-8 cups powdered sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream or milk

Direction

Cupcake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners (makes about 30 standard size cupcakes so you may need to cook in more than one batch depending on size of your cupcake pan).
2. In a large bowl, use electric mixer to beat cake mix, pudding, oil, buttermilk and eggs together for 2-3 minutes, or until mixture is smooth.
3. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake in the center of the pan comes out with just a few crumbs.
4. Let cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.

Filling and Frosting

1. Use a cupcake corer or a small spoon to remove about 1 teaspoon of cake from the center of each cupcake. Fill space with about 1 teaspoon of berry fruit spread. NOTE: If you’re using preserves that have a liquid, drain any excess liquid before filling the cupcake core.
2. Use an electric mixer fit with paddle attachment to beat cream cheese and butter until lightened and fluffy. Then mix in salt and vanilla until well combined.
3. Add powdered sugar, about 1 cup at time, followed by about 1/2 tablespoon of cream or milk, until desired taste and consistency is reached.
4. Pipe frosting onto top of cupcakes as desired.