Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

First, I'd like to start off with an apology, I guess.  I've been out of commission for a while.  Well, it was completely out of my control since I had surgery on my thyroid.  There was a nodule on my thyroid, that was either benign or cancerous, and since they didn't know they wanted to take it out.  When they took it out the pathologist in the operating room discovered it was benign, so no cancer YAY!  But now I'm just lying around the house, recovering.  I can't work for 3 weeks and can't lift anything over 5 lbs for another 3 weeks after I go back.  Something quite strange for me since I'm usually the heavy-lifter around the house and work.

I will continue blogging, though.  Maybe just not as often because of the inability to move much around the house.  Plus, the Kitchen Aid mixer weighs more than 5 lbs.

Let's talk chocolate...and strawberries!

My sister and I wanted  cupcakes one night last week and we didn't really know what kind to make, so we found a recipe for strawberry cupcakes and chocolate buttercream and decided to call them "Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes."

The ingredients for both the cupcakes and the frosting.

Preheat the oven and line your cupcake pan with liners.  I like white liners because they're all the same lol

Cut up about half of a carton of strawberries and give them a good whirl in the food processor.

Puree the strawberries to about the consistency of marinara sauce, well smooth marinara sauce.  Unless you like larger chunks, you're welcome to that too.

Whisk together the dry ingredients.

Mix the wet ingredients in a different bowl.  FYI: I hate when recipes tell you to do this because it just creates more dishes, which I HATE to do.

Add the strawberry-deliciousness to the wet ingredients.  Yes, in fact, it does look like something died in your bowl (sorry, I don't mean to be gruesome).

Now, add butter to the kitchen BFF, otherwise known as the Kitchen Aid mixer :)

Beat the butter into shape.

Add the sugar as the mixer does its job.

Then egg it.

Now it's time for the good stuff.  First, half of the dry ingredients.

Second, add the strawberry mixture.

Then, the remainder of the dry ingredients.

Even before they're cooked they look yummy.

While we're waiting for the cupcakes to cook, let's make some Chocolate Butter cream Frosting.

Mix together the cocoa powder and powdered sugar together.  I used Hershey's cocoa, but my sister and I agreed that it made the frosting pretty sweet, so I would recommend using some kind of dark chocolate powder instead.

Add the cocoa/sugar mix to the unsalted butter being whipped around in the mixer.

Oh, yum!  I love chocolate!

Then drizzle in a little milk to make it a little smoother.

Now, the frosting is done.  You can waste some more time while the cupcakes finish.  No, I don't clean up while I wait.  I hate cleaning, so I put it off as long as possible.

TADA!!!  Strawberry Cupcakes!  You are supposed to bake them just until the top is dry to the touch, I think it's because since they're still hot they continue to bake after you take them out of the oven.

How's that for a late-night cupcake snack?!

I have to get a better frosting tip for cupcakes, all the ones I have are quite small.  Jessie and I used a plastic bag this night, with the tip cut off.  It made the frosting a little unique to say the least.

There you have it.  And now the recipes to make them yourself.

Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting