Strawberry Chocolate Cupcakes

5 from 1 vote

Strawberry Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting and topped with chocolate covered strawberries. These moist cupcakes are the ultimate dessert for strawberry and chocolate lovers.

Prep Time1 hr

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time1 hr 20 mins

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Halal

Servings: servings

Calories: 429kcal

Author: Amira

Ingredients

¾ cup all-purpose flour packed
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
¼ cup unsalted butter softened
¾ cup milk
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Covered Strawberries

12 strawberries
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
¼ cup white chocolate chips

For the Buttercream

2 + ½ cup powdered sugar
½ cup unsalted butter softened
½ freeze dried strawberries
2-3 Tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter.
Use a handheld electric mixer or the paddle attachment fitted to a stand mixer to thoroughly mix together. The mixture should have a sandy consistency.
In a separate bowl, beat together the milk, eggs and vanilla extract.
Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Beat on high speed and beat well for a couple of minutes or until the cupcake batter is smooth.
Divide the cupcake batter between the 12 cupcake liners.
Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until the cupcakes bounce back when touched with a finger.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Chocolate covered strawberries

Wash and thoroughly dry the strawberries.
Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave in very short bursts.
Then poke a toothpick into the stalk end and use it to dip the strawberries into the melted chocolate. Set aside on a sheet of baking parchment to dry.
When all the strawberries have been coated in the semi-sweet chocolate, melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave in very short bursts as before.
Add the white chocolate to a piping bag then make a small incision by snipping the end of the bag with scissors. Drizzle the white chocolate on top of the coated strawberries. Leave to set.

Strawberry buttercream

Add the powdered sugar, butter and freeze dried strawberries to a large mixing bowl.
Use a handheld electric mixer or the paddle attachment fitted to a stand mixer to beat the ingredients together. The mixture should have a sandy consistency.
Add the milk or heavy cream slowly then increase the speed to high and beat for 5 minutes. The buttercream should be very light, fluffy and smooth.
Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping nozzle.
Pipe swirls of strawberry buttercream on top of the cupcakes.
Add a chocolate covered strawberry to decorate.

Notes

It's important to wash any invisible mold spores off the strawberries. Use a paper towel to dry them thoroughly as any leftover moisture will cause the strawberries to weep.
Chocolate burns very easily in the microwave therefore it needs to be melted in very short bursts. I suggest an initial time of 30 seconds and then 15 seconds thereafter. Make sure to thoroughly mix the chocolate chips in between microwaving as this will evenly distribute the heat.
When you notice that almost all of the chocolate chips have melted, step heating and keep stirring. This action will use the heat from melted chocolate to temper the remaining chocolate chips ensuring a glossy chocolate.
Another way to properly temper chocolate is by using the bain-marie method: Fill a small saucepan with a couple of inches of water and bring it to a simmer. Put the chocolate chips into a glass bowl and set it on tip of the saucepan but make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water.
The chocolate will set on the strawberries within 10-15 minutes. I recommend you leave them at room temperature instead of putting them in the fridge otherwise condensation will form on the outside.
If you can't get hold of freeze dried strawberries you can substitute for fresh strawberries. Puree ¾ cup of strawberries in a food processor, add to a saucepan and reduce the puree down by half. Add to the buttercream in place of freeze dried.
If you do not like buttercream you can always use heavy whipped cream and flavor it with cocoa powder.

Make Ahead

You can make the strawberries 3-4 hours in advance but I don't recommend any longer than that as eventually the strawberries will start to seep juice and that's when they go soggy.
Chocolate covered strawberries don't keep well for any longer than 12 hours.

Storage

These cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator and will least for at least 2 days.

Nutrition