Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

I've received a lot of support and appreciation through the past 9 months of my blog, which definitely has helped me keep baking, even during the dark depths of pre-exam time. And almost no one, besides my mom of course, has given me more praise than my friend Julie -- she's the self-proclaimed #1 Sweet Tooth Fan. So when her birthday came around last week, I knew I couldn't let her down. Enter: chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes.

The recipe is pretty simple: chocolate cake, strawberry buttercream, topped with half of a chocolate covered strawberry. Elegant, adorable, delicious. Since I was busy packing up our apartment to move while also packing for the trip to Yellowstone, I went with a doctored-up cake mix instead of my preferred chocolate cake recipe. It's not because I love you any less Jules, just because my mind and kitchen were almost spinning out of control. But of course she didn't notice and loved them just the same :)



I also temporarily moved my photography "studio"/table outside since the apartment was chaos, and I really like the specks of light coming through the trees. We get much more sunlight in the kitchen of our new place but I'm also hoping to do some more shots out on our new patio! We're almost completely moved in, and I can't wait to christen the oven with something delicious.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

For the chocolate cupcakes: Recipe adapted from Hello, Cupcake!

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 cup buttermilk (instead of water indicated on box)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a regular muffin tin with 24 paper liners
- Beat together all of the ingredients for the cupcakes with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes
- Divide batter evenly among cups and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean
- Allow cupcakes to cool in the tin for at least 5 minutes after they are done, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely

For the strawberry buttercream: Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

3 tbsp strawberry puree (from about 1/2 cup fresh strawberries)
1 cup unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
3-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- Puree strawberries with a food processor and strain out the seeds by forcing the puree through a fine-mesh sieve
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter on medium speed until light and fluffy
- Reduce speed of mixer and slowly add confectioners' sugar, and beat until well combined
- Add vanilla and strawberry puree, and mix until just blended (If frosting is too thick, add more puree, if it's too fluid, add more sugar)
- Pipe frosting on cooled cupcakes using a large star tip and top with half a chocolate covered strawberry (see below)

For chocolate covered strawberries:

12 medium-sized strawberries
Chocolate melts

- Cut strawberries in half, keeping the leaves and stems on as much as possible
- Using a double boiler, melt chocolate melts until smooth
- Dip each strawberry half in the chocolate and place on a tinfoil-lined baking sheet to dry
- Once chocolate is set, place one strawberry half on each cupcake

Recipe makes 24 cupcakes

Happy Birthday Julie! Thanks for all of your love and support :)