These Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes are the perfect treat for chocolate and strawberry lovers, made with rich and decadent, moist chocolate cupcakes, sweet strawberry frosting, and a chocolate-covered strawberry on top! They’re great for special events, parties, or to WOW at a bake sale!
Table of Contents
These chocolate cupcakes with strawberry frosting and a strawberry on top are one of my favorite recipes using strawberries because not only do you get a perfectly moist chocolate cupcake with a mound of homemade strawberry buttercream, but there is also a chocolate dipped strawberry on top of each cupcake!
Two desserts in one? Count me in.
Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes are decadent desserts that look so impressive but are easier to make than you think. They are the perfect Valentine’s Day cupcakes, perhaps as part of a Valentine’s Day Dessert Board for a Valentine’s Day party, but they are wonderful at any other time of the year as well, especially during the spring and summer when strawberries are in season.
One of my favorite things about making cupcakes is how fun it is to combine bits and pieces of other recipes to make fun new flavors! I made these cupcakes by combining my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe, my homemade strawberry buttercream frosting, and chocolate covered strawberries.
If you love strawberries, you’ll also love my Strawberry Cake, Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes, Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake, and these Baked Strawberry Donuts!
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Flour – All-purpose flour works best for these cupcakes
- Granulated Sugar – Use white granulated sugar or your favorite granulated sweetener to sweeten the cupcakes.
- Cocoa Powder – Use unsweetened natural cocoa powder. Rodelle and Ghiradelli are my favorite brands, but Hershey’s is good too!
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – Use both rising agents to help the cupcakes be light and fluffy.
- Salt – Enhances the flavor of the cupcakes.
- Egg – To bind ingredients
- Buttermilk – Adds a bit of tang to balance flavors and helps lift the cupcakes.
- Vegetable Oil – To help keep the cupcakes moist and fluffy.
- Vanilla Extract – A baking essential to add a subtle, warm flavor to the cupcakes and the frosting.
- Butter – Use salted butter for the frosting to enhance the flavor.
- Powdered Sugar – For the base of the frosting.
- Freeze-Dried Strawberries – Use these for the strawberry frosting for a great strawberry flavor and pink color. These are pretty easy to find at most grocery stores, Target, or Trader Joe’s, but you can always order them online if you have any difficulty obtaining them.
- Heavy Cream – To add substance and a creamy texture to the frosting.
- Strawberries – Use medium-sized fresh strawberries for the top.
- Melting Wafers – I’ve used Ghirardelli Chocolate Melting Wafers for a rich chocolate flavor coating for the strawberries on top.
How to Make Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes
- Combine cupcake ingredients. Combine the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl and whisk together. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Make cupcake batter and bake. Whisk together until fully combined in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add hot water to the batter and mix again, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, until combined. The batter will be thin. Fill cupcake liners only ½ full, then bake the cupcakes for 18-21 minutes. The tops will bounce back when you touch them with a finger, or a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs when they’re done. Cool completely before frosting.
- Mix butter, powdered sugar, and strawberries. To make the frosting, beat the softened butter in a large mixing bowl until creamy and light, about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar and freeze-dried strawberry powder.
- Add vanilla and cream. Mix on low speed until they start to combine. Add vanilla extract and heavy cream. Gradually increase the mixer speed and beat for 3-5 minutes until light and spreadable.
- Frost cupcakes. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip. Pipe swirls of frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes.
- Add chocolate strawberries. Melt the chocolate melting wafers according to the package instructions. Dip the strawberries in the melted chocolate, then transfer the chocolate-covered strawberries to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to set up. Once set, decorate each cupcake with a chocolate-covered strawberry.
Recipe FAQ’s
You should be able to get freeze-dried strawberries from your local grocery store in the dried fruit aisle, but don’t mistake them for dried strawberries!
Store your cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The frosting can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 7 days.
Freezing Cupcakes: Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. Flash-freeze them on a baking tray, then put them in a Ziploc bag or freezer-safe container.
Freezing Frosting: Put the frosting in a freezer-safe container or in a Ziploc bag and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Tips for Success
- You can double or triple this recipe if you need to make a larger batch of cupcakes.
- You can make the cupcakes by hand or use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, but you’ll want the whisk attachment for making the frosting. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a hand-held electric mixer, a wooden spoon, or a rubber spatula.
Valentine’s Day Dessert Ideas
This recipe makes the perfect cupcakes for Valentine’s Day, but what about some other Valentine’s Day-themed treats to sweeten your dessert table?
Of course, these sweet treats are perfect any time of year, but they’ll look and taste amazing with these cupcakes for a Valentine’s Day party.
Cupid Crunch Valentine’s Chex Mix
More Cupcake Recipes
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (141g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ½ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (50g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup very hot water
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 (1-ounce) bag freeze-dried strawberries
- 2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- 14-16 medium-sized fresh strawberries
- 1 package Ghirardelli Chocolate Melting Wafers
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
- Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk together.
- Combine the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl and whisk together.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until fully combined.
- Add the hot water to the batter and mix again, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, until combined. The batter will be thin.
- Fill cupcake liners only ½ full, then bake the cupcakes for 18-21 minutes. The tops will bounce back when you touch them with a finger, or a toothpick will come out with only a few moist crumbs when they’re done.
- Cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat the softened butter in a large mixing bowl until creamy and light, about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar and freeze-dried strawberry powder. Mix on low speed until they start to combine. Add vanilla extract and heavy cream. Gradually increase the mixer speed and beat for 3-5 minutes until light and spreadable.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip. Pipe swirls of frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes.
- Melt the chocolate melting wafers according to the package instructions. Dip the strawberries in the melted chocolate, then transfer the chocolate-covered strawberries to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to set up.
- Once set, decorate each cupcake with a chocolate-covered strawberry.
Notes
- Store: Store your assembled cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The frosting can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 7 days.
- Freeze: Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. Flash-freeze them on a baking tray, then put them in a Ziploc bag or freezer-safe container. Put the frosting in a freezer-safe container or in a Ziploc bag and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Beautiful cupcake! Can I put the chocolate covered strawberry on the cupcake the day before and refrigerate until served or will the berry leak and chocolate get ugly?
Hi! Yes that should be fine. As long as you keep it cold it shouldn’t be an issue.
I’ll start by saying the frosting recipe is *superb* 10/10. I thought the cake recipe looked off and had way too much oil but tried it anyway. And I was right. The finished cake tasted like vegetable oil and the texture was gummy and stuck to my teeth. So I will use the frosting on a different chocolate cupcake.
I love this recipe! I would love to make it into a cake next time. Is the baking time and temperature the same?
I have a chocolate cake recipe right here which is the same as the cupcake batter just in cake form. https://houseofnasheats.com/one-bowl-chocolate-cake-recipe/
It is basically the chocolate cupcake batter doubled.
I would like to make these chocolate decadent strawberry topped cupcakes but I’m wondering if I can substitute the buttermilk due to lactose intolerance.
Thank you for your help!
I know you can add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a dairy free milk (like almond, soy, or oat) and it can be a substitute for buttermilk. I have never tried that for this recipe but it should work just fine!
Awesome!!!
Thank you Maddy!
Do I need freeze dried strawberries or freeze dried strawberry powder? The ingredient list says strawberries but the recipe says powder…you can get both online? Or do you just grind the berries into a powder in a processor?
Sorry for the confusion. Honestly you could buy either one. Freeze-Dried Strawberries are pretty easy to find at most grocery stores, Target, or Trader Joe’s, but you can always order them online if you have any difficulty obtaining them. If it is not a powder you can just blend the freeze-dried strawberries until it becomes a fine powder.