Remember when you were a kid, you couldn’t wait until the ice cream man came driving up your street. You could hear the music, coming from the truck, blocks away, at least that’s what it seemed like.

My favorite is the Good Humor version of the Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bar. It has a strawberry center surrounded by a layer of vanilla ice cream, all covered in a sweet, crunchy shortbread cookie coating.

My Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes are “my take” on the Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bar. I hope that once you taste these delicious treats, you’ll be able to travel back in time to those special memories. These next 3 pictures were all photographed by my sister, Tina, with Photocoephotography.com.

Prep Time: 1 hour
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 16 to 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Yields: 18 servings (18 iced and fully decorated cupcakes, 6 extra cupcakes without frosting for sampling)
Equipment: 1 (10-cup) food processor, 2 large mixing bowls, hand-held electric mixer, whisk, 2 rimmed baking sheet pans, pink cupcake paper liners, 2 (12-cup) muffin (cupcake) pans, cooling rack, 2 piping bags fitted with a large star tip, ice cream scoop

Ingredients for the Strawberry Cupcakes:
2 (15.25-ounce) boxes of Duncan Hines Strawberry Supreme cake mix, divided
2 cups of water, divided
2/3 cup of vegetable oil, divided
6 large eggs, room temperature, divided
2 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract, divided
8 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, unsalted, room temperature
2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream
1 pound (16 ounces) of powdered sugar
2 (3-ounce) packages of strawberry Jell-O mix, 1 1/2 packages for a crunchy topping, 1/2 package for frosting
2 drops of red food coloring
1 (1 pound) package of Golden Oreos, cream removed (all 3 sleeves)
2 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter, unsalted

Ingredients for the Cream Filling:
1 (15-ounce) container of Ricotta cheese, double-cream variety, room temperature
1 cup of powdered sugar

Instructions for the Cream Filling:
In a large mixing bowl, add the ricotta cheese and powdered sugar, and mix to combine. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with the star tip. Set aside.

Instructions for the Strawberry Crunch Topping:
In a food processor, grind up your Oreos. Add in the strawberry Jell-O mix, and combine. Add melted butter and process until the mixture becomes moist. Dump the crumb mixture out onto 2 rimmed baking sheet pans. Spread out evenly. All to sit for 1 hour to stiffen. Set aside

After 1 hour, if there are any large crumb pieces, break them up with the back of a spoon. Refer to the pictures.

Instructions for the Cake Batter:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the vegetable oil, eggs, water, and vanilla extract, and beat to combine. Add 1/3 of the cake mix at a time to the wet ingredients, and mix to combine. Repeat the process until all the dry mix is incorporated. In a second large mixing bowl, repeat the process for the second box of cake mix. Once the second batter is complete, combine the batters into one bowl. 

Line 2 cupcake pans with liners, and fill slightly over 1/2 way.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake according to the box instructions. Let cool.

In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and Jell-O mix. Add heavy cream, and gradually add in the powdered sugar until you reach the desired thickness. Add in the red food coloring and mix until pink. Set aside.

Take your piping bag with the cream filling and gently press a hole into the top (the tip should just enter the cupcake) of each cupcake. Fill each one with (approx.1 good tablespoon of cream filling).

In a separate piping bag fitted with a large star tip, fill the bag with the pink icing. Start in the middle of your cupcake, work your way out and up with the icing. Sprinkle the crumb topping on the cupcakes. I have some red glitter too. Sprinkle over the crumb topping to enhance the color.

There you have it, my Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes.

Notes:
1) Mix 1 box of cake mix at a time, then combine the finished cake batters into 1 large mixing bowl.

2) Use an ice cream scoop to ensure the same amount of batter for each cupcake.

3) Sample the cream; if you’d like it sweeter, add more powdered sugar. It’s up to you.

4) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through the online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.