Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Cupcakes Recipe

Name: Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Cupcakes
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 18 servings
Ingredients: 1 cup plain flour; 1 cup white sugar; ½ cup cocoa powder; 1 tsp baking soda; ½ tsp baking powder; Pinch of salt; 1 egg; ½ cup milk; ½ tbsp white vinegar; ½ cup brewed coffee; ¼ cup flavourless vegetable oil; 1 tsp vanilla; ½ punnet strawberries, finely chopped (around 1 cup); Juice of ½ lemon; 1 tbsp cornstarch; 1 tbsp icing sugar (tailor this depending on how sweet your strawberries are); 120g butter, softened; 4-6 cups icing sugar; ½ cup milk, room temperature; 1 tsp strawberry extract; Strawberries; Dark chocolate for dipping

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour
1 cup white sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 egg
½ cup milk
½ tbsp white vinegar
½ cup brewed coffee
¼ cup flavourless vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
½ punnet strawberries, finely chopped (around 1 cup)
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp icing sugar (tailor this depending on how sweet your strawberries are)
120g butter, softened
4-6 cups icing sugar
½ cup milk, room temperature
1 tsp strawberry extract
Strawberries
Dark chocolate for dipping

PREP TIME 25m	COOK TIME 25m	TOTAL TIME 50m
YIELD 18 servings

Instructions

Finely chop strawberries and place in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Add in lemon juice, cornstarch and icing sugar and let bubble over the heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool, if it’s still a bit chunky then squash with a potato masher.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake papers.
Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
Combine the milk, vinegar, coffee, oil and vanilla extract in another bowl. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined.
With the mixer on low, carefully add in the dry ingredients. Mix until combined (the batter will be very thin).
Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full with mixture.
Place a teaspoon of fresh strawberry filling into the middle of each cupcake.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
Place the softened butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
Gradually add in 4 cups of sugar, then the milk and strawberry extract (adding gradually prevents the icing from going grainy).
Beat for around 3-5 minutes until smooth and creamy.
Gradually add the remaining sugar until it is thick enough to ice the cupcakes (you may not need all the sugar).
Spoon the mixture into an icing bag with a nozzle attached and ice the cupcakes.
Wash and try the strawberries.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl in short bursts in the microwave until smooth.
Dip each strawberry into the melted chocolate until well covered, letting excess chocolate drip off into the bowl.
Place on a baking paper lined tray to dry.
Repeat the process until all strawberries are done, then adorn each cupcake with a strawberry.