Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes are pure decadence, bursting with strawberry goodness and topped with a halo of berry infused Swiss meringue buttercream.

Again, me with the berries. This time, though, the focus is on the strawberries.

I’ve actually been sitting on this recipe for months, since I launched the blog, waiting to post it at just the right time.

I may have missed it. Strawberry season is overrrrr.

But these Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes are still so pretty! And the Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe is to die for!

I just adore using fresh fruit in my recipes. Everything from cupcakes to pancakes to shortcakes; I feel like fruit brings something special to the dish.

There’s nothing like hitting the farmer’s market and snapping up everything in season for super cheap, getting it home, and trying to decide how best to use it all. Really gets the creative kitchen juices flowing.

Which is exactly what happened when I made these. Berries were plentiful, and I had a hankering to pair them with something crazy chocolatey.

I still haven’t perfected a chocolate cupcake recipe – I have no go-to favorite, but the one I used here, adapted from an Epicurious layer cake, is almost near perfect.

Coffee is one of my favorite things, not just for it’s caffeine content, but because of the beautiful enhancement it lends to chocolate cake.

Oh, the crumb this cake has! It’s so moist and rich and almost melts in your mouth. And paired with a tangy, chunky berry puree?

Words can’t describe. You just need to go make these and taste for yourself.

The Swiss Meringue Buttercream is pretty darn special, also.

I’ll admit, I’m a cream cheese icing kind of girl. As far as I’m concerned, it pairs well with every kind of cake. But, for the sake of the blog and expanding my baking knowledge, I tried something new.

And I’m so glad I did! This stuff is FANTASTIC. It’s light and fluffy and absolutely different from everything I’m used to, but in a wonderful way. It was a lovely topping for these cupcakes.

As an added plus, it turns out that it freezes well, so you don’t have to feel guilty about eating the rest of the icing because you don’t want it to go bad. Just toss it in some Tupperware and off to the freezer with it.

Of course, if you want to just grab a spoon and finish it off, I wouldn’t blame you.

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So long, strawberries! See you in March, all ripe and red and perfect!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes with Berry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes are pure decadence, bursting with strawberry goodness and topped with a halo of berry infused Swiss meringue buttercream.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 447kcal

Author: Erica

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 ounce semi-sweet or dark chocolate
• ▢ ½ cup hot brewed coffee
• ▢ ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ cup dark cocoa powder
• ▢ ⅔ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ⅓ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ▢ ½ cup buttermilk
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon vanilla

Berry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• ▢ 12 ounces unsalted butter cubed, room temperature
• ▢ 5 large egg whites
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 ½ Tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• ▢ ⅓ cup mixed berry puree
• ▢ Pinch of salt
• ▢ 1 ½ cups mixed berry puree for filling

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
• Chop dark chocolate finely, and combine with hot coffee in a small bowl, stirring until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
• Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat egg for 2-3 minutes, until slightly thick and lemon colored.
• Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate to egg, mixing until incorporated.
• Add flour mixture on medium speed, mixing until just combined. Divide batter between liners, filling ⅔ to the top.
• Bake for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in cupcake pan 10 minutes before removing to wire rack.

Berry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• Place a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water; combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the bowl and whisk frequently, until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 160 degrees (if the mixture is grainy to the touch, keep whisking!).
• Place melted sugar mixture in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk; beat on medium-high speed for approximately 8 minutes, until stiff peaks form.
• Reduce speed to medium; add butter, cube by cube, ensuring it incorporates before adding more.
• Continue whipping icing until it is fully incorporated; add vanilla extract and berry puree, mixing until combined.
• Insert a paring knife in the top of each cupcake. Going about halfway in, cut a cone out of each, being sure not to puncture the bottom or sides.
• Spoon berry puree into each hollowed out cupcake (about 1 ounce/2 tablespoons per).
• Pipe a ring of the Swiss meringue buttercream around the top of each cupcake, leaving the middle uncovered so you can view the berry goodness!

Notes

Cupcake recipe adapted from Epicurious.
Swiss Meringue recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.

Nutrition

Calories: 447kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 167mg | Potassium: 148mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 745IU | Vitamin C: 3.8mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1.2mg

Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a pic, post it, and mention @CrumbyKitchen or tag #crumbykitchen for some Instagram love!

What are your favorite icing & cupcake pairings?