Making yogurt more artsy: Strawberry Banana Cupcakes

I apologize for the grainy pics... my camera died so I used my cell phone :)

I love yogurt. And not the fat-free, loaded with pro-biotic stuff that is attempting to eliminate a need for fiber. I mean the real, thick yogurt that seems so hard to find now-a-days. To be honest, yogurt has been on my mind a lot recently. I'm sure you've seen the new Fage yogurt commercial; if not, you should! I love it! Where else can you find really good poetry set to artistic images. It teeters the border between artsy and fartsy, but I'm still loving it to the point that I will stop fast-forwarding my commercials on DVR to watch it. So here is the poem that has enraptured me in yogurt dreams:

Plain was the same as it ever was the same:
Plainly plain, samely same.
But then, someone lit the flame.
Plain rode away on lion's mane,
Where plain met fruits with strangely names,
Such wonderful things they did contain.
A shot of life to a hungry vein,
The captive beast that broke the chain,
And there upon that fruited plane
Is where plain become more than plain:
So much more than more than plain.
Plain will never be the same.

In honor of my new favorite commercial, my favorite flavor of yogurt in cupcake form: Strawberry Banana Cupcakes. It may not be fruits with "strangely names," but my fellow medical students remarked how different the flavor was for a cupcake. Hoping you'll find it "more than plain," too. :-)

Don't mind those cookies in the forefront... I'm mention those next post!

Strawberry-Banana Cupcakes

makes 20 cupcakes

Cake:
-1 1/2 sticks or 12 T. butter, room temperature
-1 1/2 c. sugar
-2 very ripe bananas
-2 t. vanilla
-2 eggs + 2 yolks
-2 1/4 c. flour
-1 t. baking powder
-1 t. baking soda
-1/4 t. salt
-12 T of milk

Strawberry filling:
- 3 c. frozen strawberries (if you use fresh, please see note in instructions)
-1/4 c. sugar
-2 T. corn starch

Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing:
- 1/2 (4oz) pkg cream cheese
-3 T. butter, room temperature
-4 cups powdered sugar
-2 t. vanilla
-2-5 T. milk, or until desired consistency is achieved

Make the filling first so it has time to cool: In a medium sauce pan, heat the frozen strawberries until almost softened. Add the sugar and corn starch. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, like pie filling. Let cool. If using fresh strawberries, simply combine all ingredients in pan, stir to combine, and cook until thickened.
Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin pan with cupcakes liners.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Add in half of flour mixture. Stir in milk. Add in rest of flour mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 18-20 min. Let cool completely before filling and cooling.
Meanwhile, prepare frosting by first creaming together the cream cheese and butter. Add in powdered sugar a 1/2 cup at a time until all incorporated. Add in vanilla and enough milk to achieve the desired consistency.

Now that your cupcakes are cool, you can either puree your filling until smooth and pipe-able, or leave as is. If pureed, using a long tip, pipe filling into cupcakes. If leaving as is, cut out a cone in the top of the cupcake and fill. Frost as desired.

Enjoy!