Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Cupcakes

I bake cupcakes on a weekly basis. 100% of the time it's for an order (I bake cakes and cupcakes in the Salt Lake Valley, in Utah, if you need something sweet for your upcoming gatherings! haha). This weekend, though, I didn't have an order to fulfill. You'd think I'd take a break and step away from the kitchen, right? NOPE! This woman is a baking addict. 

I started dipping strawberries before dawn, and by the time the boys were awake, there was a batch of chocolate cupcakes in the oven. Ryan came out of our room and asked: who are these cupcakes for? (A usual question in this house). I then explained to him that I can't remember the last time I baked cupcakes for fun, just for us, just for the heck of it. It was really fun to not have the stress of making everything super-perfect for a client, and to leave it all up to experimentation. I have a few classic cupcakes recipes I draw from for orders, and it was fun to just take a morning, do my own thing, and develop another sure-fire cupcake option people can choose from. And let me just start by saying. 

HOLY SMOKIES, friends. These are a new favorite. If you're a chocolate-dipped strawberry lover, or know one, these will change you life, man. 

The cupcake base is a thick classic chocolate. I've used this recipe dozens of times, and it is moist as ever, and will always have people thinking you've made it 100% from scratch. It is, mostly, but tastes like (or even better) than any scratch recipe I've ever tried or had served to us. 

Next, that glorious frosting!!! I have a recipe for raspberry white chocolate frosting that always hooks people right into my cupcakes, and I thought it would be fun to adapt the recipe for strawberries. It was a little more tricky, but worked out just fine in the end. I love using fresh fruit in frosting with white chocolate. It makes the most dreamy creamy frosting you could ever imagine, and people will just fawn over it! My husband couldn't stay away from licking the bowl (at least there's no raw eggs to warn him about with frosting, eh?). So you have double the chocolate with these babies - milk chocolate flavors in the cupcake, drizzle, and strawberry, and white chocolate in the frosting. 

On top of the frosting, I originally was just going to just top it all with a simple chocolate dipped strawberry. But I ended up doing a little drizzle over top. It scared me to death because the frosting was perfect, and then I drizzled on hot melty chocolate. I thought I was headed for a mess of melted frosting, but it worked out perfectly! I think it added another element of flair to the cupcake. 

Lastly, I topped the white chocolate strawberry frosted chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate dipped strawberry. Seemed over the top, but hey, we were having a blast in the kitchen that morning! I just love making cupcakes! 

So, if you're looking for something special to make for your lover (or even yourself - treat 'yo self, people!), this is it. I've got you covered. Happy weekending, friends! See you back here on Monday! :) xoxoxo 

Double Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Cupcakes 
(Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Strawberry Frosting, Chocolate Drizzle, topped with a Chocolate Dipped Strawberry) 
makes 2 dozen cupcakes

ingredients:

cupcakes:

1 box devils' food cake mix 

3 eggs 

1/2 C oil

1 C buttermilk

3/4 C sour cream

1 T vanilla extract

white chocolate strawberry frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, cold

1/2 C white chocolate chips

1/2 C heavy cream 

1 t vanilla extract

1/2 t strawberry extract (or 1 T strawberry jelly)

4 T fresh strawberry puree (take 5 large strawberries, and puree them, seeds and all) 

pinch of salt 

4-6 C powdered sugar

*a splash more of heavy cream if needed

chocolate dipped strawberries:

1 lb fresh strawberries

1 lb chocolate chips

a splash of vegetable oil

method:

to make the chocolate dipped strawberries:

1. Make sure strawberries are washed and dry. In a double boiler (I use a metal bowl over a small saucepan with a little water in the bottom), melt chocolate completely. Add in about a 1/2-1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to thin it out, and make it easier to dunk the strawberries in. 

2. Prep a large space on the counter with parchment paper. One by one, dip the fresh strawberries (I only dip the front side, they dry faster that way), into the warmed chocolate. Place them on the parchment paper, and let them dry for about 30 minutes (while you're making the cupcakes). 

to make the chocolate cupcakes:

1. Prep 2 24-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Place cake mix into a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Pulse a few times until all the cake mix pieces have been broken up into a thin powder. 

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, buttermilk, sour cream, and vanilla. Add to cake mix with the stand mixer speed on low. Mix until just combined and there are no cake mix pockets, then stop. 

4. With an ice-cream scoop (with a release trigger), scoop cake mix into prepared cupcake cups until cups are a teeny over half full. Bake one pan at a time for 17 minutes, or until centers are light and spongy when touched. Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. 

to make the frosting:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, whip up the butter on medium speed until there are no lumps. 

2. While butter is whipping up, place 1/2 C heavy cream in the microwave for 45 seconds. When finished, add in white chocolate chips. Let sit for 20 seconds, then stir until white chocolate chips are melted completely. 

3. Add white chocolate cream mixture to the butter, then the extracts and a pinch of salt. Add in strawberry puree and beat 10-15 seconds longer. The frosting mixture should be kind of thin. Slowly, about 1/2 C at a time, add in the powdered sugar until desired piping consistency is reached. You may not add in all the powdered sugar, and may need to add in a little bit of heavy cream to get the consistency you'd like. It all depends on how you want it to look on the cupcake! 

4. Fill a piping bag with a large star tip and pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes. Drizzle with melted chocolate, and top with a chocolate dipped strawberry. 

Cupcake recipe adapted from: Your Cup of Cake 

Frosting, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries Recipe, and concept source: Baking with Blondie