Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes
These chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes will make your Valentine's Day celebrations extra sweet! They consist of a rich, indulgent chocolate cupcake, a sweet & tart strawberry cream cheese frosting, and a bit of strawberry jam inside.
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup hot/boiling water
For the frosting & filling:
- 5 tbsp strawberry jam 4 tbsp for filling, 1 tbsp for frosting
- 3 oz cream cheese room temp
- 8 tbsp butter room temp
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract optional
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare a cupcake pan with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.
- Into the same bowl, crack one egg, then add the milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract, whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until fully combined.
- Add the hot water to the cupcake batter and whisk well until the batter is smooth and water is fully incorporated.
- Using a cookie scoop for even distribution, fill each cupcake liner with batter about ¾ full.
- Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool to room temperature before filling and frosting them.
For the frosting:
- While your cupcakes bake, in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter well until very light and fluffy, about 5 full minutes.
- Add in the cream cheese and beat into the butter until totally incorporated, then add the strawberry jam and beat until fully mixed together.
- Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating well in between both cups. If the frosting is too dry, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or an extra teaspoon of strawberry jam.
- The frosting should be sturdy, but if needed, you can chill it while the cupcakes finish baking so it firms up.
For assembly:
- Using a sharp knife, cut small holes out of the tops of each cupcake, saving the tops. Fill each hole with strawberry jam, then cover the jam with the cut-out cupcake tops. Filling 12 cupcakes should equal about 4 tbsp of jam, depending on how big you cut the holes, but you can use more or less if needed.
- Transfer the frosting to a prepared piping bag and pipe the frosting evenly over the cupcakes.
- Garnish your cupcakes as desired and enjoy!
Notes
- Utilize mise en place! Make sure you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before you begin making this recipe - it will help save you time and keep you organized.
- Easy chocolate shavings: A super simple way to make chocolate shavings is to use a vegetable peeler on the edge of a bar of chocolate!
- If you don't have any strawberry jam, you can also blend freeze-dried strawberries into a powder to add to the frosting - it will be a much brighter pink and a bit more tart!
- Add your favorite filling. The only thing that could make these cupcakes even more delicious is a fun filling like strawberry jam, chocolate ganache, or creamy peanut butter!
- Have fun with toppings. Chocolate shavings, fresh strawberries, fun sprinkles, chopped nuts - the options are endless!