Mini Strawberry and Chocolate Cakes

Ingredients

2 cups diced strawberries

1 strawberry cake mix

1 chocolate cake mix

1 8 oz package cream cheese

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugr

2 12 oz packages semi sweet chocolate chips

12 medium strawberries, sliced for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease two large sized muffin pans with butter.

Place diced strawberries in a saucepan over medium high heat, stirring constantly until berries start to bubble, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until very thick, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Prepared strawberry and chocolate cake according to package directions making 12 strawberry and 12 chocolate cupcakes.  Bake about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Add cream cheese and butter to thickened strawberries mixing until smooth and creamy. Beat in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until mixture is thick and smooth. Refrigerate 40 minutes.

While cakes are still in the muffin tins, slice off the domed tops. Remove cakes from tins and slice each cake into two layers. The slightly larger layer is the cake bottom. Set on wax paper. Spread strawberry mixture thickly over the bottoms. Cover with remaining layers of cake. Each cake will have a chocolate and a strawberry layer.

Set aside 1/3 cup of the chocolate chips. Melt remaining chocolate chips until very smooth. Pour over tops of cakes, letting drip down the sides. Cool at room temperature.

Garnish tops of cakes with strawberry slices and remaining chocolate chips.