Sinfully Sweet Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe With Pink Strawberry Frosting

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While not every flavor of the rainbow pairs well with chocolate, there are a bevy of fruits, spices, and herbs that do make for a fantastic taste combo when paired with perfect chocolate cake. I'm a major fan of mint with my chocolate. But my second choice would have to be a juicy, tart red berry -- like raspberry or strawberry. Hence why this awesome chocolate cupcakes with pretty pink, strawberry frosting recipe is calling my name. And probably yours, too!

Check it out ...

Chocolate Cupcakes With Strawberry Buttercream from BakingBites.com

Chocolate Cupcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups water, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and sandy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla extract.
With the mixer on a low speed, blend in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by half of the water. Add another third of the flour mixture, followed by the rest of the water. Stir in remaining flour mixture just until no streaks of dry ingredients remain. The batter should be fairly liquidy.

Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed.
Turn cupcakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting and filling.

Makes 18 cupcakes.

Strawberry Buttercream
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup strawberry puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2-3 cups confectioners’ sugar
A few drops red food coloring (optional)

Combine all ingredients except the sugar in a large bowl and beat until very smooth. Gradually beat in the sugar until the frosting is smooth, thick, and fluffy. Add a few drops of food coloring, if desired, to enhance color.

Put about 1/2 of the buttercream into a piping bag or a large zip-top bag with the corner snipped off for filling the cupcakes. Leave the rest in the bowl for frosting.

Assembly
Take a cooled cupcake and, using a small paring knife, cut a cone of cake (1-inch across by 1-inch deep) out of the top. Trim off the pointy end of the cone, leaving a flat circle of cake. Set aside and repeat this process for all the cupcakes.

Take the strawberry frosting set aside in a piping bag and squeeze a tablespoon or so into each cupcake cavity, filling the hole up to the top with filling. Top off with a flat circle of cake to plug the hole and keep the filling in place.

Dollop some more frosting on top of each cupcake and use a small knife or offset spatula to spread it into an even layer.

Image via sunshinecity/Flickr