Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Butter Cream Frosting
My princess turned 9 this 23rd, looks like it was yester day she came into our lives…time flies fast, yes very fast. She had barely completed 9 months when she took her first steps holding my hand and today she is 9 years, hard to believe she is growing up so fast. It has been an amazing journey to watch my lil one growing into a beautiful, charming, sweet and naughty girl. Kids must be naughty right.. Being a girl, she loves all girly stuff like dressing up, my makeup, her dolls, stitching clothes for her Barbie. You know she is a great artist (loves doing all sort of art and craft), has a great passion for canvas and her colors and paint brush. She wants to be a fashion designer one day. Today being her birthday certainly demanded celebrations and all good things were going to be here today at home as well as in school with her friends.
She wanted me to bake something for her friends in school, we discussed a lot about what the kids would like and dislike…we finally concluded on making Double chocolate cupcakes with dreamy creamy strawberry butter cream frosting. I had a big task in front of me, needed to bake around 40 – 45 cupcakes….since I had overcome my fear of baking; I was relatively calm this time. We made a list of shopping to be done, got the ingredients and started with the task in hand. It took me around five hrs to complete making the cupcakes and packing them in boxes to be taken to school for the party. As the kids got these super yummy and pretty looking cupcakes, the expression on the cute little faces was priceless. While the kids were enjoying their cupcakes there was hardly any noise heard, all were busy eating and enjoying these cupcakes. You know, kids from other classes to came in and in no time all were gone. It gave me so much of satisfaction to see happy faces. “Wow” i’m satisfied and happy kid and a very happy mom.
I searched for a lot of chocolate cupcake recipes but found the perfect one on “Sally’s Baking Addiction”, lovely recipes she has. The cupcakes turned be very moist, soft and dense enough to hold the beautiful frosting. The chocolatey flavor of the cupcakes from cocoa powder and semi sweet chocolate along with creamy strawberry frosting made these gorgeous little things to die for. For the frosting I used fresh strawberries which gave a beautiful pink color and great strawberry flavor to the frosting. The combination of chocolate and strawberry made these cupcakes simply lip smacking and divine. This was not enough….I baked Athena’s birthday cake as well, she wanted a chocolate and strawberry cake and that too made by me. She is also a chocolate and strawberry lover like me J, we can eat strawberries plain, drizzled over pancakes, icecrams in form of couils, in salads or in any form.
Double chocolate cupcakes with strawberry butter cream frosting a sheer indulgence.
- 95 grams all purpose flour
- 115 grams unsalted butter
- 60 grams semi sweet chocolate (I used Lindt, you can use any of your choice)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 50 grams light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 120 ml buttermilk
- 24 strawberries cut into half
- 230 grams butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoon whipping cream
- 3 & 1/2 cup icing sugar
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C. Line the muffin pan with cupcake liners and keep aside.
- Add the butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl, melt them in a microwave. You can also melt them in a double boiler. Since mine were kept at room temperature they melted in microwave in about 30 seconds. Stir to mix.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together sieved cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt together until combined.
- Take a large bowl add eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract and whisk together until smooth. Add the cooled butter and chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and whisk well. To this mixture add half of the cocoa powder & flour mixture and half the buttermilk, mix. Repeat by adding the remaining flour mixture and then buttermilk until everything is added. Stir until just combined. DO NOT over mix. The batter at this stage should be very thick.
- Fill the cupcake liners with the prepared batter till 2/3 rd full. To surprise all put an half cut strawberry inside the batter. Bake for about 20 – 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Mine got done in 25 minutes.
- Remove the cupcake from muffin tins and place on wire racks to cool.
- Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.
- Frost the cupcakes with strawberry butter cream frosting using a piping bag and top it with chocolate chips or fresh strawberries as you desire. I topped with chocolate chips.
- Chop the strawberries, transfer in a blender and puree until smooth.
- Transfer the pureed strawberries to a saucepan and allow it to boil over medium heat. Once it starts to boil, reduce heat and cook stirring often till it is reduced to half. It will take about 20 minutes or so.
- Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Transfer the butter in a bowl, beat with an electric beater till light and fluffy, add cream beat again for 1 – 2 minutes
- Add half the sugar and half the cooled strawberry puree to the butter and beat till blended. Add vanilla extract and beat again till blended.
- Add the remaining sugar and strawberry puree to the above and beat again till well blended.
- There you have your gorgeous strawberry butter cream ready to be frosted on the cupcakes.