Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcake... yupp. We said it.

Hi everyone! Sick of cupcakes yet? Hope not! All this batter-making, bowl-licking goodness got our creative juices and we’ve been toying with a new recipe we just HAD to share!!! How does a chocolate covered strawberry sound? 

Yeah, we thought so…. 

Here’s how it’s done:

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup milk

¾ cup cocoa powder

1 ½ cup all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

Frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter

1  ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar

½ cup strawberry jam

Filling:

½ cup strawberry jam

Garnish:

large semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate morsels, whatever you have handy works fine!

Cupcake Batter:

In a large bowl, begin by combining dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder. Mix until well combined. Next, in a stand mixer, time to mix the wet ingredients! Cream the butter until light and fluffy and looks like whipped cream. Then, add the sugar and vanilla extract. Beat together until fully combined and whipped-up. Now, add eggs, one at a time, beating lightly until well mixed in. 

Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, portion by portion. Alternating with the vegetable oil, then the milk at the end to thin out the batter. Preheat oven to 350 and bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick or small fork comes out clean! Let the cupcakes cool thoroughly before filling & frosting!

Jam Filling:

Take a small sharp pairing knife and hollow out a hole in the middle of the cupcake. Be careful not to puncture through to the bottom, that’d be messy to eat! Make the hole as large or small as preferred—but we prefer a larger center, as this jam center really is THE JAM! HA! Use a piping bag, small zip lock bag with a hole snipped at the end, or simply a tiny spoon, and fill it up! Make sure to fill it straight to the brim, even overflow a little, the more, the strawberrier! (is that a word? If not, it should be!)

TIP: many grocery stores have tons of local jams in the aisle right next to the commercial ones we see everyday. Always go local! The ingredients are fresh, taste better, better for you… oh, and you’re supporting the good peeps!!

Strawberry Buttercream:

Cream 1 stick of butter in your stand mixer or hand held mixer until light and fluffy. Slowly add the 1 ¼ cup of confectioners sugar until well combined, and back to a fluffy nature. Pour in the ½ cup strawberry jam and whip up until it is pink, fluffy, and oh-so-sugary-delicious!! Pour into a piping bag, or just smear it right onto the cooled & filled cupcakes! Garnish with a chocolate chip morsel (or dare we say, two or more?!), and EAT!!!!

All this cupcake needs now is a glass of red wine, a chick flick, and some friends!! Let’s face it, feed this cupcake to your guests and they won’t care that your movie of choice might be “Pretty Woman” or “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” You won’t lose anyone with this cupcake, guaranteed!!!