Neapolitan Cupcakes

My housemate Jessie found this amazing recipe on How to Eat a Cupcake. Neapolitan cupcakes--wowsers! I knew I had to make them. My friend Melissa and I had been planning a baking afternoon, and this seemed like the perfect recipe for it since it involves two batters. She made chocolate, I made vanilla, and then we combined them for the final cupcakes.

Because both batters are on the thick side, it's easier than you might think to fill half the cupcake wrapper with one and half the cupcake wrapper with the other. I used How to Eat a Cupcake's recipe for the cupcakes, and then used my own recipe for the frosting. It's just getting to be strawberry season here, so I wanted something that used fresh strawberries. I also wanted to incorporate strawberries and cream cheese, since I think that's a lovely flavor combo. Mine didn't turn out quite as pretty as the originals, but they were really yummy!

Neapolitan Cupcakes (adapted from How to Eat a Cupcake)

Prepare both vanilla and chocolate batters; fill cupcake wrappers with 3 tablespoons of each, side by side. Makes 24.

Vanilla Cupcakes

8 T unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk

Chocolate Cupcakes

Repeat same ingredients above, but reduce flour to 1 1/4 cups, and add 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Whisk into dry ingredients.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; add vanilla, and mix until combined. On low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, followed by milk; end with remaining flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated (do not overmix).
3. Fill muffin cups with 3 tablespoons of each batter, side by side.. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 22 to 24 minutes.

Strawberry-Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 pint strawberries
6 T butter
4 oz. cream cheese
powdered sugar to taste

1. Hull strawberries and then slice them into large chunks. Pulse strawberries in the food processor until pureed. Force through a strainer into a small bowl.
2. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add most of the strawberry puree and beat. Add powdered sugar until frosting is desired sweetness and consistency. Taste for whether to add more cream cheese/puree/sugar along the way. Ice cooled cupcakes and top with a slice of strawberry.
3. I found that the icing got as sweet as I wanted it before it got thick enough...I wasn't sure how to fix this, so I just drizzled on the somewhat-too-thin icing. Although it wasn't as pretty, it sure did taste good!