Decadent Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

Today is my little girl’s first day of kindergarten! I can hardly believe it. She goes to the afternoon session in another hour or so and is anxiously, excitedly counting the minutes down. I, on the other hand, am trying to stop the tears from starting… So in the spirit of taking my mind off it, I thought I’d blog about the most amazing cupcakes! A few weeks ago we were on a family vacation and found this great little bakery where they sold chocolate cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting. They sold them for $1 a piece after 7pm and we found ourselves there every single night buying their cupcakes. They were to die for! And the four pounds I gained on the trip proved how great they were! So that started the desire to try and replicate those cupcakes. I think these are pretty darn close. I took these to a family party last week and my sister-in-laws sister raved that they were the best cupcakes she’d ever had. I often feel narcissistic saying that all the recipes I post are “the best”—but I feel it’s less self-absorbed because I didn’t make up the recipes (or at least that's how I justify it). The buttercream was featured on Martha Stewart’s show and many of you may have already seen it on the Web because it seems to get rave reviews from everyone. It is not too sweet and so smooth, creamy, and the perfect flavor. I adapted it to fit the strawberry/chocolate craving I’d been having. We also made these for my sister-in-laws shower and they were a hit! The combo might sound a little weird—but it is amazing…trust me!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

Chocolate Cupcakes

Click on link above for recipe used--I used a recipe I've posted before for chocolate cake and made it into cupcakes. They were incredibly moist and paired well with the buttercream. It yielded about 24-30 cupcakes.

Strawberry Buttercream adapted from Billy's Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup (2 stick) UNSALTED butter, room temperature
6-8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 C milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-2 tsp strawberry extract
1-2 drops red food coloring
2 strawberries, chopped finely

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, extract, food coloring, strawberries, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired conistency.

Update: You MUST use a kitchenaid or Bosch mixer to make the frosting.  It won't turn out very well with an electric hand mixer.