Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

This weekend is my best friend's Bachelorette party. I've been preparing, getting gifts ready for the girls that are attending and sorting through everything I want to do. First off, I've booked a two bedroom suite at a hotel in Castleton. We'll be eating at Harry & Izzy's, also in Castleton but going out to hit up some bars in the downtown Indianapolis area. I even made the invitations based on one I saw on Pinterest.

Isn't it adorable?

I changed the inside of it a bit from this one so in case you're wondering, this is what it said:

So, all the big things are all planned out, however, I'm still figuring out what I want to do at the hotel. I want to decorate it a little before Liz gets there and I also want to do some snacks and drinks (or course). I don't think I'll do any special drinks, just the normal assortment of booze and mixers. For snacks however, I want to do something fun. I started thinking cupcakes and I did go ahead and ask her what her favorite flavors were which I already knew - Strawberry and Chocolate. So, I got it in my head that I wanted a cupcake that tastes like a chocolate covered strawberry!

I decided to do a strawberry cake with a chocolate frosting (this was simply because I'm not a huge fan of chocolate cake - selfish, I know). I already have an awesome strawberry cupcake recipe, courtesy of Annie's Eats which was originally from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes (which I really should buy). Those cupcakes have a strawberry frosting with it which I've made but this time, we're going to mix it up to see if it will taste like chocolate covered strawberries.

Original Strawberry Cupcakes w/ Strawberry Frosting

I love cupcakes!!

Strawberry Cupcakes
Ingredients:
Yields 34 cupcakes, bake time: 25-28 minutes per batch
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour*
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature**
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 large egg white
1 cup milk
2 1/2 cups finely chopped fresh strawberries (this takes a while by hand)

*I don't keep cake flour around so I found a substitute: For 1/2 cup, you can put 1 tbsp cornstarch in the bottom of your measuring cup and fill the rest of the 1/2 cup with all-purpose flour.
**15-20 seconds in the microwave with the wrapper on should do the trick if the butter is straight out of the fridge. Watch it though, last time I left it in too long and ended up with melted butter in the microwave.

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F and line cupcake pans with paper liners. If you're like me and don't have enough pans, you'll have to do a 2nd batch after the first is finished but that leaves time for the first to cool while you're making the frosting. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk all flour, baking powder and salt. In your electric mixer (which you really need to have for this), combine butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). 
3. One at a time, beat in the eggs and egg white, mixing well after each addition (scrape down the sides as needed). 
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the milk, mixing each addition, just until incorporated. 
5. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries with a spatula.
6. Divide the batter between the paper liners, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until light golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-28 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking (I've never done that last part - oops!). 
7. Allow to cool in the pan(s) for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. I still don't have a wire cooling rack for this part of cupcake making but I've found that our toaster oven racks work well.
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For the chocolate frosting, I started hunting the web for something interesting. Oddly enough, I ended up back on the Annie's Eats website. I haven't actually made this frosting yet but I will be on Friday night. I'll let you know how it goes. But, in the meantime, here's the recipe:

Chocolate Frosting by Annie's Eats (slightly adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes)
Ingredients:
Frosts about 2 dozen cupcakes
9.5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
4 tbsp unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
pinch of salt
2/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. sour cream
For le garnish: quartered strawberries (or halved... or whole!)

Instructions:
1. Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Set aside to cool until just barely warm.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).
3. Gradually mix in the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder and salt.
4. Beat in the melted and cooled chocolate and then the sour cream. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and well blended.
5. Frost cupcakes immediately before the chocolate hardens and the frosting sets.

All-in-all, I'm pretty excited to make these cupcakes. I can't wait to see how they mix together! I really hope it tastes like a chocolate covered strawberry.

Thanks for reading. -K