These Chocolate Strawberry Jam Cupcakes are moist chocolate cupcakes topped with strawberry jam frosting and topped with a chocolate covered strawberry! They are so fun to make, easy to prep, and are so festive for the season!
Why You NEED These Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes
- Deep, rich chocolate flavor
- Creamy, soft, and velvety strawberry frosting
- Easy to prep, easy to bake, easy to clean, and easy to serve
- Festive, refreshing, and GORGEOUS to eat and serve
Moist Chocolate Cupcake Ingredients
All Purpose Flour: You'll need regular, plain all purpose flour in these cupcakes! Make sure to measure properly by measuring out 140g exactly or by spooning the flour into your measuring cups before leveling off the cups.
Dark Cocoa Powder: I LOVE using dark cocoa powder in cupcakes, as it creates such a nice flavor and color while chemically working well with the other ingredients.
Baking Soda: Baking soda is the leavening agent in these Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes and helps them to have a nice rise while maintaining their rich and moist texture.
Salt: Salt brings out the sweetness and completes the flavor of the cupcakes!
Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil is the BEST in cupcakes because it creates a moist cupcake that stays moist. You can substitute it with an unflavored oil if necessary (canola, olive, etc.).
Sour Cream: Sour cream creates a tender, moist crumb in chocolate cupcakes. Make sure it's at room temperature for best results. You can substitute with greek yogurt if necessary.
Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar adds to sweetness, moisture, and structure.
Eggs: You'll need 2 large eggs at room temperature in these cupcakes. If you forget to leave the eggs out ahead of time, place them in a bowl of hot water for 5-10 minutes before baking.
Vanilla Extract: Though these cupcakes have a deep, rich, chocolate flavor, vanilla extract enhances the flavor of these treats.
Buttermilk: Buttermilk. BUTTERMILK. It's the best for a moist, light, fluffy crumb. Do not substitute it for regular milk, as you will not achieve the results you are looking for. You can, however, make homemade buttermilk. Read "Expert Tips & Tricks" for more information and directions on doing so.
Boiling Water: Boiling water deepens the flavor of the cocoa powder. It enacts the flavor and truly makes these cupcakes so rich!
Making Creamy Strawberry Frosting
*PLEASE READ FULL, DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS IN THE RECIPE CARD BELOW*
- Beat room temperature butter on medium speed in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until smooth
- Mix powdered sugar into the butter and beat until combined
- Beat the mixture on high speed for 1 minute
- Add strawberry jam to the buttercream mixture and beat until combined
- Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl before mixing for an additional minute
Cupcake Baking Frequently Asked Questions
To bake moist cupcakes, you'll want to make sure you do not overmix when adding the dry ingredients to the wet batter. Doing so reduces the air in the batter and creates drier, flatter cupcakes. Additionally, only bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs. The cupcakes will continue to bake and firm up as they cool, so baking until a toothpick comes out clean will lead to dry cupcakes.
To make a light, tender cupcake, I use buttermilk and sour cream. These two work together to add moisture without weighing down the cupcake while creating a softer, fluffier texture. Make sure to use room temperature ingredients for best results.
Expert Tips & Tricks
Homemade Buttermilk: You can make homemade buttermilk if you don't have any on hand and aren't able to run out to grab some. Though the results will not be the exact same as using a store-bought buttermilk, using this substitute is way more effective than regular dairy milk. To make homemade buttermilk:
- Fill a liquid measuring cup with 2 teaspoons of white distilled vinegar (preferred) or lemon juice
- Add dairy milk to reach the ⅔ cup line on the measuring cup
- Stir mixture before letting it sit for 5-10 minutes before using
Overmixing: When adding the dry ingredients and the boiling water to the wet ingredients, you will want to mix thoroughly between each addition. The mixture may look lumpy at some points but will become smoother once all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. After all of the flour mixture and boiling water has been mixed into the batter, do not mix much further past when you see the dry ingredients disappear into the batter and all flour pieces have been broken up and smoothened.
Decorating: You can decorate these strawberry jam chocolate cupcakes however you'd like! Here are a few frosting options:
- Piped rosettes
- Tall swirls
- Spoon and knife for simple waves
- Ice cream scoop for tall heaps of frosting
Related Recipes
Print
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
- Category: Cupcakes, Dark Chocolate, Strawberry
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Chocolate Strawberry Jam Cupcakes are moist chocolate cupcakes topped with strawberry jam frosting and topped with a chocolate covered strawberry. They are so fun to make, easy to prep, and are so festive for the season!
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- 12 medium strawberries, washed and completely dried
- 1 cup (180g) dark chocolate chips
For the Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (27g) dark cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 teaspoon (6g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (4g) salt
- ⅓ cup (75g)vegetable oil
- ¼ cup (65g) sour cream, room temperature
- ¾ cup (170g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (100g), room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (160g) buttermilk, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (75g) boiling water
For the Strawberry Jam Frosting
- ¾ cup (165g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups (300g) powdered sugar
- ½ cup ( strawberry preserves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (30g) milk
Instructions
For the Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Line a baking sheet or flat plate with parchment paper to ensure the strawberries are removed cleanly after setting.
- In a medium, heat-proof bowl, heat chocolate chips in the microwave in 40 second increments. Stir thoroughly between each round of heating to ensure the chocolate chips melt evenly.
- Ensure that all of your strawberries are completely dry.
- Dip a strawberry into the melted chocolate mixture. Swirl the strawberry around in the chocolate to ensure it is completely coated in chocolate. Lift the strawberry out of the chocolate and allow the excess chocolate to drip off of the strawberry.
- Place the strawberry on the parchment-lined baking sheet or plate. Repeat this process with the remaining strawberries.
- Place the strawberries in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes.
For the Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 12-count muffin tin with liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk properly-measured all purpose flour, sifted dark cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined.
- In a large bowl, whisk vegetable oil, room temperature sour cream, granulated sugar, room temperature eggs, vanilla extract, and room temperature buttermilk together.
- Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. Add ½ of the boiling water to the batter and mix until combined. Repeat this process with another ⅓ of the dry ingredients, the remaining ½ of the boiling water, and the final ⅓ of the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly between each separate addition.
- Divide the batter between the liners, adding about ¼ cup of batter to each muffin liner. The liners should be about ⅔ full.
- Bake the cupcakes for 18-22 minutes or until the tops look set and shiny, the cupcakes are domed, the centers of the cupcakes spring back up when quickly poked with your pointer finger, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs.
- Allow the cupcakes to fully cool before frosting.
For the Strawberry Jam Frosting
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat room temperature butter on medium-high speed until smooth.
- Slowly, add powdered sugar to the mixture, beating on low speed to avoid the powdered sugar spilling out of the bowl. Once the powdered sugar is fully incorporated, beat for another minute to ensure the mixture is smooth.
- Add the room temperature strawberry preserves to the frosting. Beat until combined. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure the ingredients are properly incorporated throughout.
- Frost the cupcakes as desired before topping with the prepared chocolate strawberries.
Keywords: Dark Chocolate Cupcakes, Dark Chocolate, Strawberry Jam, Strawberry Frosting, Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Vaishnavi says
Hii!! Any alternative for soar cream??
Elise says
Hi there! You can substitute sour cream with Greek yogurt!