What says Valentine’s Day better than chocolate covered strawberries? Combine them with a moist chocolatey cupcake and my husband and I are both happy. He loves chocolate covered strawberries and I love everything chocolate! I decided to make these at the last minute, but most of the ingredients are items we always have on hand.
The recipe we found on If Only I Had A Kitchen used canned frosting, but we decided on a homemade ganache. It was a good choice because it was delicious and looked so nice.
Make these for your Valentine. They’re simple but will no doubt impress.
Here's what you'll need
Dip some fresh strawberries in melting chocolate…believe me it's for the best
Here's a batch just out of the oven and one about to go in. At this point the house smells fantastic!
What's better than a combination of chocolate, chocolate and chocolate? Nothing is.
Your Valentine will love these.
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup Ghirardelli cocoa powder (we used Hershey)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Directions
Makes 24 cupcakes
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. In stand mixer, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter evenly into prepared pans, about ¾ full.
Bake for 22-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; transfer to wire racks and cool completely.
For the Frosting:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
¾ cup heavy cream
1½ tablespoons sugar
1½ tablespoons corn syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
While the cupcakes are cooling make the ganache. Add the chocolate to a medium bowl. In a saucepan stir the cream, corn syrup and sugar together. Heat until boiling. Immediately pour the mixture over the chocolate and let stand a few minutes to melt. Whisk mixture until smooth and blended, then whisk in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time until completely incorporated. Let the mixture stand at room temperature to thicken slightly, so it can be piped or spread.
For the Decoration:
Slice the strawberries into a fan and place on frosted cupcake. Or, dip strawberries in melting chocolate, let cool and place on frosted cupcake. See pictures for examples.
Source: adapted from If Only I Had A Kitchen
