Chocolate Strawberry Cupcake

Is it any secret that I LOVE cupcakes?!?! Once I figured out the secret to doctoring a box of cake mix my life had officially changed! Learning how to make the batter and figuring out different fillings and learning how to make buttercream and pipe frosting all took me some time to figure out. But now I feel like I can whip together a batch of cupcakes in no time!!

Spring is coming and nothing says warm weather quite like fresh berries! Whenever Valentine’s Day rolls around you will start to see some really yummy strawberries in the grocery store. They are perfect for dipping in chocolate but why settle for that boringness when you can puree them into a delicious buttercream frosting on top of light, moist and fluffy cupcake chock full of creamy chocolate filling?!?! I’m seriously drooling just thinking about these treats.

I made them for my new team at work who haven’t gotten to enjoy the real perk of being on my team! Fresh baked goods galore! They loved these…..I was surprised any of them made it home.

Sorry for the subpar picture….I am seriously missing my little studio right now! Soooooooon!

All right let’s get this party started!

Makes 24

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• 1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix
• 1 Package Hersheys Instant Chocolate Pudding
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 1/2 Cup Melted Butter
• 1 Cup Sour Cream
• 4 Eggs
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 6 oz Mini Chocolate Chips

Filling:

• 3 oz Hershey’s Milk Chocolate
• 8 Tbsp Salted Butter

Frosting:

• 1 Cup Salted Butter, softened
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 6 oz White Chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/4-1/3 cup Strawberry Puree (cut the tops off 8-10 strawberries and puree in a food blender)
• 2-3 Cups Powdered Sugar

Make the filling first. In a small sauce pan melt the butter and chocolate over medium heat. As soon as all the chocolate has melted remove from heat. Mix well and let chill in the fridge while you prepare the cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the cupcakes add the cake mix and pudding into a stand mixer and mix on low. Add butter and milk. Mix well. Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Mix well for 2 minutes scraping down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the chocolate chips. It’s very important to make sure that the sides of the bowl are scraped down because if the batter isn’t evenly mixed your cupcakes will have inconsistent texture and bake.

Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before filling and frosting.

Remove the filling from the fridge and scrape it out into a medium mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to beat it for about 2 minutes until it has become light and creamy. Use a piping bag and filling tip to fill the cupcakes with the chocolate mixture.

To make the frosting:

In a medium bowl beat the butter and salt with a hand mixer until it lightens in color and becomes light and fluffy. Add 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar, mix well. Slowly beat in the melted white chocolate. Add 1/4 cup strawberry puree. Slowly add 1 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar and beat well for 3-4 minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Add more puree and sugar to taste. You will want the frosting to be stiff enough to hold it’s shape.

I used a Wilton 1M tip and large piping bag to pipe roses onto each cupcake.

S’mores Cupcakes

It is certainly s’mores season! I love all the outdoor mountain summer activities. Camping, hiking, hanging out by the lake, campfires, tinfoil dinners and of course S’MORES!! I am not usually one for marshmallow, but when you toast it up and it gets all gooey and the perfect golden brown color. And then you add melty chocolate and crispy graham crackers and you have the perfect summer treat!

My first foray into s’mores baked goods were a few pans of s’mores brownies. This hit 2 birds with one stone. I have never made homemade brownies before so I wanted to give it a shot. And of course I had to elevate it and add some s’more elements. And as I was attempting to lightly toast them in the oven under the broiler they caught on FIRE……god I have never been so scared! Thankfully they were incredibly easy to extinguish.

Needless to say when I decided to make a cupcake version I went with a meringue frosting and lightly torched them with a handheld kitchen torch. I’ve had this torch for several years and I have only just barely mastered using it!

Once again I am back at it with my all time favorite cupcake recipe! If you haven’t tried this one yet you are missing out. They are both light and fluffy and incredibly moist! The filling for the cupcakes is the perfect Hershey Chocolate filling you would need to have a genuine s’more experience. I decided to go with a graham cracker crust instead of just crumbling some on top. Make sure that you don’t add too much butter otherwise you will end up with a greasy mess.

Well here we go!

Makes 24 Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• 1 Box Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
• 1 Package Hersheys Instant Chocolate Pudding
• 3/4 Cup Milk
• 1/2 Cup Butter, melted
• 1 Cup Sour Cream
• 4 Eggs
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 6 oz Mini Chocolate Chips

Crust:

• 1 sleeve Graham Crackers (8 full crackers), crushed into fine crumbs
• 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Butter, softened

Filling:

• 3 oz Hershey’s Milk Chocolate
• 8 Tbsp Salted Butter

Frosting:

• 4 Egg Whites
• 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
• Pinch of Salt
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Make the filling first. In a small sauce pan melt the butter and chocolate over medium heat. As soon as all the chocolate has melted remove from heat. Mix well and let chill in the fridge while you prepare the cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Use your hands to mix all the ingredients together until you have well incorporated the butter and the crumbs slightly stick together when pressed.

Line your cupcake pan with paper liners. Press the graham crackers in the bottom of the liners. Bake for 5 minutes. Let cool while mixing the cupcake batter.

To make the cupcakes add the cake mix and pudding into a stand mixer and mix on low. Add oil and milk. Mix well. Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Mix well for 2 minutes scraping down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the chocolate chips. It’s very important to make sure that the sides of the bowl are scraped down because if the batter isn’t evenly mixed your cupcakes will have inconsistent texture and bake.

Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before filling and frosting.

Remove the filling from the fridge and scrape it out into a medium mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to beat it for about 2 minutes until it has become light and creamy. Use a piping bag and filling tip to fill the cupcakes with the chocolate mixture.

To make the frosting.

In a double boiler or place your metal stand mixer bowl over a medium pot with a few inches of water. Add eggs, sugar, salt and cream of tartar into the bowl. Over a medium heat whisk together the ingredients. It will start to turn syrupy. Once your mixture reaches between 120 and 140 degrees remove from heat. Using a hand mixer or your stand mixer beat the frosting for 7-10 minutes until stiff peaks form. Make sure that your peaks don’t move at all. Occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and beat for an extra 30 seconds.

Pick your favorite piping tip and move frosting into a piping bag. Pipe onto the cupcakes. Lightly toast with a kitchen torch.

Made again in 2018

Chocolate and Peppermint Wonderland Cupcakes

Oh yes…. that time of the year has arrived, Christmas baking time!!! I seriously love peppermint flavored treats and so I figured this is a great way to kick off the season.

I am sitting here typing up this recipe in front of my gorgeous Christmas tree and the first snow storm of the year is in progress. I am filled with the Christmas Spirit! I already have some shopping done thanks to a Black Friday miracle at Best Buy. I find myself having a hard time finding gifts for all the wonderful people in my life who just buy themselves everything they want. I usually have all sorts of creative ideas, I should start thinking outside the box again! This is also the first year for me to buy a gift for a baby! I really want to find something special for my newborn nephew, meaning something special that his parents will love since he literally couldn’t care less.

This is my classic chocolate cupcake recipe. It is so hard to find a cupcake that is both fluffy and super moist….and boy does this deliver on both! I can’t say this enough that it is so important to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that your batter is evenly mixed.

I am so in love with this frosting! I took these cupcakes to a Black Friday potluck and one of my friends said it’s her favorite frosting I have ever made! High praise! And I agree with her, the frosting is smooth and creamy with almost a whipped texture. And the pieces of peppermint chips add some great texture and the perfect amount of peppermint pop!

If you can’t find the peppermint chips or candy melts you can also use 1/2 cup finely crushed candy canes

Makes 24 Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 Box Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
• 1 Package Jello Instant Chocolate Pudding
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 Cup Sour Cream
• 4 Eggs
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 6 oz Mini Chocolate Chips

Frosting:

• 1 1/2 Cup Salted Butter, softened
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 2 1/2- 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 8 oz Baking White Chocolate
• 1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips or Peppermint Candy Melts
• 1 Tbsp Heavy Cream

To make Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the cupcakes add the cake mix and pudding into a stand mixer and mix on low. Add oil and milk. Mix well. Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Mix well for 2 minutes scraping down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the chocolate chips. It’s very important to make sure that the sides of the bowl are scraped down because if the batter isn’t evenly mixed your cupcakes will have inconsistent texture and bake.

Line cupcake pan with cupcake papers. Fill each cup about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

To make Frosting:

In a microwave safe bowl melt the white chocolate in 30 second increments stirring in between each round until completely melted. Let it cool slightly.

In a stand mixer beat the butter until smooth. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix completely. Slowly add the white chocolate with the mixer on low. Slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar until you get the consistency and taste you desire. Add the cream. Beat on medium for 2-3 minutes to get that light and fluffy whipped texture. Mix in the peppermint candies

I had to forgo the frosting tip for these due to the candy bits, but you can either spread it on with a spatula or just off a wide tip on a piping bag.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Spring Frosting

Made these bad boys for a pre-Easter pot luck at the store. The girls loved them! Then we took some to a family night with Levi’s family and they were a big hit there too! These ended up being super light and fluffy without being dry at all. They were perfect!! It’s a good thing I’ve been taking up running lately because I have been chowing down on these babies! I added some Milk Duds on top and named them “Rabbit Poop” Cupcakes for Easter 😀

Sometimes I feel like using a box of cake mix to make cupcakes is cheating, but it’s super convenient when you have a lot going on. This recipe adds a few more ingredients to help enhance that flavor and texture of the cupcakes.

If you like to load up on frosting then I would double the frosting recipe.

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix
• 1 Package Jello Instant Chocolate Pudding
• 1 Cup Sour Cream
• 4 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 1 1/2 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Frosting:

• 1 Cup Butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup Caramel Melts
• 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
• 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Coarse Salt
• Green Food Coloring
• Optional toppings: Sprinkles, Milk Duds, Shredded Coconut

To make Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make the cupcakes add all the ingredients into a mixer and mix for 2 minutes until all ingredients are well combined. Line cupcake pan with cupcake papers. Fill each cup about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

To make Frosting:

In a stand mixer beat the butter until smooth. Add 1 cup powdered sugar, food coloring and vanilla. Mix completely. In a microwave safe bowl melt the caramel with the cream in 30 second increments stirring in between each round until completely melted. Slowly add caramel with the mixer on low. Add salt. Slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar until you have a light and fluffy frosting. I used a star tip to pipe on the frosting kind of like grass.

Add your favorite toppings and set some aside for yourself cause your friends and family are sure to gobble them up!