Recipe: Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

If you’re planning a spring garden party or just a get-together with family and friends, then these delicious chocolate cupcakes, topped with mouth-watering strawberry buttercream and mixed berries, would make a perfectly scrumptious treat for your guests.

 

Cupcake ingredients

  • 310g plain flour
  • 30g cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 110g unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 300g granulated sugar
  • 85g Lily O’Briens Mega Milk Chocolate (from 1 share bag) melted & cooled
  • 2 large eggs
  • 230ml buttermilk
  • 120ml hot water


Strawberry buttercream ingredients

  • 230g unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 360g icing sugar
  • 30g freeze-dried strawberries
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • Mixed berries to decorate


Method

 

Cupcakes

  • Preheat the oven to 175ºC/160ºC fan. Line a muffin pan with cupcake cases. The recipe will make 24 medium-sized cupcakes or 12 large-sized cupcakes, baking times will vary.
  • Roughly chop the chocolate and place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stir and repeat until melted. Set aside to cool.
  • In a mixing bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set to one side.
  • In a stand mixer beat the butter and granulated sugar for 2 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and cooled chocolate and beat again for 30 seconds.
  • Add half of the buttermilk and beat again to combine. Add in half of the dry ingredients and combine, then add the remaining buttermilk plus the hot water and beat just until just mixed.
  • Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat on low speed until everything is fully combined.
  • Fill the cupcake cases around 2/3 full. Bake medium-sized cupcakes for 18-20 minutes (bake larger cupcakes for 23-26 minutes), until a toothpick when inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Strawberry buttercream

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add in the icing sugar a little at a time, making sure to mix in each addition until fully combined.
  • Add the freeze-dried strawberries to a blender or food processor and blend until powdery. Save a spoonful of powder to one side then mix the remaining freeze-dried strawberry powder and the vanilla extract into the buttercream, scraping down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the mixture.
  • Once the cakes have cooled completely, pipe the strawberry buttercream onto the top of each cupcake and decorate with a sprinkling of the freeze dried strawberry powder you kept to one side and your choice of mixed berries.


Take a peek at our other recipes for some delicious Lily O'Brien's recipe inspiration!