By the time I got home, I decided to make cupcakes instead of a cake with cream cheese icing with a hint of strawberry.  I realized I didn't have any frozen strawberries.  Fortunately, Luke had a few errands to run so he made a trip back to the store for me.  

I made the cupcakes by following the box instructions which made 16 cupcakes.  They baked in a 325 degree oven for 18 minutes.  The cupcakes are delicious but the homemade strawberry cream cheese icing was absolutely amazing!  Luke stood at the counter and ate spoonfuls of icing right out of the mixing bowl!

Recipe for the Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing:

1/2 stick butter (I always bake with Parkay)

4 oz. cream cheese

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 thawed or fresh strawberries (smashed)

Place a colander in a bowl.  Put the strawberries in the colander and smash the strawberries with a potato masher.  The bowl will catch the juice from the strawberries.  Once the strawberries are smashed, put them aside and let the juice continue to drain into the bowl.  Using a mixer, cream the softened butter and cream cheese.  Once combined, add the confectioners sugar a 1/2 cup at a time.  When all of the confectioners sugar is combined with the butter and cream cheese mixture, add the smashed strawberries.  Depending on how much moisture is in the strawberries, you may need to add a little more confectioners sugar because the strawberries could make the icing too runny.  Once you have the consistency you want, stir in the vanilla extract.  

This is a fairly thin icing so I actually dipped the cupcakes into the mixing bowl.  

After I took the pictures, I decided the cupcakes needed a second dip in the icing. ;)