Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

These Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes are my new favorite dessert. A rich chocolate cake is paired with the fluffiest of strawberry frostings and topped with a homemade chocolate covered strawberry. It's like two desserts in one!

There are three elements to these cupcakes: the chocolate cupcake, the strawberry buttercream, and the chocolate covered strawberries.

You'll start off by baking the chocolate cupcakes. While those bake you can get started on the buttercream followed by the strawberries. Then you'll carefully assemble all three together for a deliciously decadent dessert!

A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE GET STARTED

• Room Temperature Ingredients:
  • Butter: It’s important that the butter for both the cakes and frosting is softened. In a pinch, you can put your butter in the microwave for about 5 seconds on each side, but watch closely to make sure it is just softening and not melting.
  • Eggs: You also want to make sure that the eggs are at room temperature to ensure that they are properly incorporated into your batter. If you forget to leave them out before you start baking, place them in a bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes until they becomes room temperature.
• Measuring Your Ingredients:
  • I strongly encourage that you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients and ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
  • However, if you don’t have a scale on hand and will be using cup measurements, make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method when measuring to avoid packing in too much of any dry ingredient.
• Oven Temperature:
  • Make sure to preheat your oven for at least 15 minutes before you start baking.
  • I recommend purchasing an oven thermometer to get to know your oven so you can adjust your baking temperatures accordingly. Some ovens run slightly warmer or colder so its important to know yours to make sure your baked goods come out right.
• Check out My Favorite Baking Tools to see what I use when I bake.

Let's bake!! Preheat your oven to 350º F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with your spatula as needed. Add vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the buttermilk.

Beginning and ending with the flour mixture, alternate between adding the flour mixture and the coffee to the batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, carefully scoop 2 tablespoon of batter into each cupcake liner. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and split the remaining batter among the cupcakes until they look even.

Bake for 22-24 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the pan cool on the cooling rack for 15 minutes before gently pulling the cupcakes out of the pan and letting them cool completely on the cooling rack.

Place your washed and fully dried strawberries on a parchment lined baking sheet. If you're using chocolate wafers, place them in a somewhat shallow heatproof bowl and melt them in the microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring each time, until they are fully melted. If you're using chocolate with coconut oil, follow the same step with the chocolate and then stir in the coconut oil once its melted.

Hold each strawberry by the leaves and gently dip it into the chocolate, turning it around until it is fully covered.

If you have a lot of chocolate on it, you can carefully drag it along the edge of the bowl to remove some without exposing the strawberry underneath. If needed, gently dip it back in to add more.

Hold the strawberry with its tip right side up for about 15 seconds to let the chocolate start to set before placing it back on the parchment. This will help to avoid creating a pool of chocolate at the base of the strawberry. Repeat this step with the other strawberries.

Use a small spoon or pastry bag to carefully drizzle each strawberry with the remaining chocolate. Place the baking sheet into the fridge for the strawberries to fully set.

Now you're ready to make the chocolate ganache. Place the chopped chocolate in a heat safe bowl. Place the heavy cream in a smaller heat safe bowl and microwave for 10 second intervals, stirring in between until the cream is hot.

Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until combined. Reheat for 10 seconds if the chocolate isn't fully melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

Now's the last element, that delicious strawberry buttercream. Cream together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until smooth.

With the mixer on low, slowly add in spoonfuls of the powdered sugar and freeze dried strawberry powder followed by the cream.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Chill frosting until needed.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a cupcake corer or a small knife to carefully cut out the center of each cupcake about ¾ of the way down. Save the tops that you cut out as these will be added back.

Add the chocolate ganache to a pastry bag and carefully pipe into the centers of each cupcake until they're ¾ full. If your ganache is too thick, carefully reheat in the microwave for 10 seconds until it is a better piping consistency.

Gently add the tops back so they cover up the chocolate ganache. Let your buttercream come closer to room temperature if it's been in the fridge for a while. Scoop the strawberry buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with an Ateco 869 or similar piping tip.

Starting in the middle of the cupcake, begin to pipe the frosting in a clockwise motion, moving to the outer rim of the cupcake until you have covered the entire top in a beautiful swirl design. Repeat this with the remaining cupcakes.

Top each cupcake with a chocolate covered strawberry. Enjoy!

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