Peaches {or strawberries} 'n cream cupcakes

I generally think cupcakes, while delicious, aren't food blog-worthy. These cupcakes are ones that I created somewhat out of boredom and somewhat out of my obsession with good fruit in the summer. Both kinds were crowd pleasing, and very simple to make. If you've got some peaches on hand, I highly recommend throwing some into buttercream frosting. You'll be very happy you did. Okay, here's the breakdown

For the Cupcakes:

1 box of white or yellow cake mix (I did white for the strawberry and yellow for the peach)

1 small package of vanilla instant pudding

1 3/4 C water

1/2 C oil

4 eggs

1/4 C flour

*you can add some chopped fruit if you'd like. I did not, because my child runs from peaches like they're poison. I don't think it's necessary for the flavor, but I'm sure it would add to it.

Mix with a handheld or stand mixer until well combined. Fill 30 cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes. Mine were perfect at 16.

For the Filling:

1 cup heavy cream

2-4 TBP sugar, to taste

Just whip the whipping cream and sugar. Then use a bismark tip or regular piping tip to fill the cooled cupcakes. You can choose to core the cupcakes to fill them, but I found this worked well and it was very quick.

I also chose to add a little layer of peach jam to the tops, mostly because I'd just made some the day before. 

Not necessary, but a nice touch. 

Now for the magic...the frosting...

For the Frosting:

2 sticks of butter at room temp

1 lb-1 1/2 lbs powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2- 1 cup of chopped peaches (I only ended up having a little over a half to use)

3 tsp peach jam (optional)

Mix all ingredients in mixer until the consistency is a little thicker than you'd normally want, then add the fruit. If the fruit is really juicy, you may need to add a little more powdered sugar afterward.

 Then pipe in whatever fashion you prefer onto the cupcakes.

There you have it. They're pretty, simple and give summer harvest some serious props. Also, I opted to not top the peach cupcakes with peach slices because a whole slice was too big but smaller bits would just get messy :)