Julie Clark
Updated:
Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes
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Perfect for Valentine’s Day or any day! Soft Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes are moist chocolate cupcakes with the perfect amount of strawberry flavor.
Nothing says Happy Valentine’s Day like a cupcake! These fluffy chocolate cupcakes are dressed up for the holiday of love with strawberry filling and a melt-in-your mouth strawberry frosting. They’re soft and sweet.
You’ll love these Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes because they are 100% from scratch (although we’ll give shortcuts for busy days below). The beautiful cupcakes are the perfect treat for Valentine’s Day, but really any time of year. And they’d pair nicely on a dessert table with our chocolate strawberry galette!
About these Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes:
- Flavor: Delicious rich milk chocolate paired with sweet strawberry frosting with real strawberry flavor.
- Texture: Smooth strawberry jam filling in the center of each cupcake. The soft cupcake pairs well with the silky smooth buttercream.
- Method: This recipe makes 24 cupcakes. This recipe works best if you use a stand mixer or high powered hand mixer to mix the cupcake batter, but especially the buttercream. You’ll also need a small food processor to pulverize the freeze-dried strawberries.
Easy Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes
This homemade cupcake recipe is 100% foolproof! It’s the perfect recipe to try if you’ve never made a homemade cake.
Follow the instructions in the recipe card below, but there are 5 tips:
- Mix up the wet and dry ingredients separately. It may seem like an extra step, but it’s 100% worth it to get the right texture.
- This recipe has coffee in it, but you can’t taste it. You can use instant coffee if you don’t have a coffee pot. If for some reason you don’t want to use coffee, use water instead. (But really….try the coffee. It’s our secret ingredient for the best chocolate cupcakes.)
- If you don’t have buttermilk, make a substitute. Add a teaspoon of vinegar to a measuring cup and fill it the rest of the way with milk. This works best with a high fat milk such as whole milk or half and half.
- Fill the muffin cups no more than 2/3 full so that they don’t run over. That’s just a little over half way.
- Don’t open the oven before you think they are done. If you do, then cupcakes may sink.
How to Fill Cupcakes
They sell special tools to fill cupcakes and they work well, but there’s really no need to get a special tool.
Here are three simple steps:
- Use a knife or small spoon to cut a circle into the top center of the cupcake to create a pocket. Don’t go all the way to the bottom. Keep the hole about ¾” deep.
- Spoon a heaping teaspoon of strawberry jam into the middle of the cupcake.
- Then place the cut piece of cake back on top to seal the cupcake.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
Although we have a strawberry frosting with fresh strawberry purée and a quick strawberry frosting with jam, we wanted to create a buttercream that had great strawberry flavor and color.
And we used freeze-dried strawberries to achieve that. Freeze-dried fruit gives a gorgeous boost of color and intense strawberry flavor.
Use a piping bag and Wilton Tip 1M or 2D to pipe swirls of buttercream on the top of each cupcake. Then you can decorate.
Some ideas for decorating the top are: fresh strawberries, chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate chips or even drizzled with chocolate ganache.
Need a shortcut?
Use a chocolate cake mix to whip up the cupcakes quickly and easily. Bake according to the package instructions. You can also buy Pillsbury or Betty Crocker strawberry frosting.
Storage Instructions
- Room temperature: Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 24 hours.
- Refrigerator: Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before eating.
- Freezer: Freeze the cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature before eating.
Feel free to switch up the fruit with any other freeze-dried fruits you can find. Raspberry is also delicious!!
If you’re looking for a cake, try chocolate strawberry cake or chocolate strawberry brownies. You may also love our whole grain cupcakes.
Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes
Make that sweet tooth smile with these deliciously addicting Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes. A rich chocolate cupcake is frosted with light strawberry buttercream and topped with chopped strawberries!
Servings 24 servings
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 43 minutes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup freshly brewed strong hot coffee
For the filling:
- 1 cup strawberry jam
For the strawberry buttercream
- 1 ½ cups freeze dried strawberries
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoons vanilla
- ¼ cup heavy cream plus more if needed for desired consistency
Instructions
Make the cupcakes:
- Prepare cupcake pans with 24 liners. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Put flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk well.
- In a stand mixer, mix the buttermilk, oil, eggs, vanilla together. Slowly add in the mix of dry ingredients while the mixer is on low. Add the coffee and make sure everything is combined. The batter will be very thin.
- Fill the cupcake cups about ½ to ⅔ full and bake for about 18-21 minutes or until the center of the cupcake springs back when you touch it.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool on a cooling rack. While the cake is cooling, make the frosting.
Make the frosting:
- Place the freeze dried strawberries into a food processor and pulse until it makes a fine powder.
- In a stand mixer bowl, with the mixer on medium speed, whip the butter for 2 minutes until it is almost white in color. Make sure the butter is at room temperature, but not melted.
- Add in the powdered sugar, strawberry powder, vanilla and cream.
- Beat on low speed for 3-5 minutes, adding in another tablespoon of milk if the buttercream needs to be thinner for piping.
Assemble the cupcakes:
- Use a knife to cut a circle into the top center of the cupcake to create a pocket. Don’t go all the way to the bottom. Keep the hole about ¾” deep.
- Spoon a teaspoon of strawberry jam into the center to fill the cupcake, then place the cut piece of cake back on top to seal the cupcake.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes in swirls.
- Garnish with strawberries and chocolate shavings or curls.
Notes
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 24 cupcakes, with 1 serving being 1 cupcake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Serving: 96g | Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 271mg | Potassium: 300mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 52g | Vitamin A: 309IU | Vitamin C: 182mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 4mg
