Strawberry and Chocolate Cupcakes | Valentines

'All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.' - Charles M. Schulz

If your single or loved up these cupcakes are perfect for both. If you are looking for a gift that's personal and thoughtful then these are great or if you just want to treat yourself to something chocolatey and drown away the single blues, then bake away! Strawberries dipped in melted chocolate is often seen as a romantic treat, so I've taken that gesture and put them into cupcake form. Think, a moist dark chocolate cupcake with a hidden strawberry jam middle, topped with strawberry frosting. The perfect Valentines day treat!

I recently bought a 2D piping nozzle to create a rose effect with frosting. I highly recommended buying this to create a beautiful effect on your cupcakes, and for this bake it works really well. I bought mine for just £2.00 on Amazon!

Chocolate Cupcakes
(Makes 12)

75g Dark Chocolate
175g Plain Flour
30g Cocoa Powder
185g Caster Sugar
1/2 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
2 Eggs
120ml Coffee, Cooled
140ml Buttermilk
100ml Vegetable Oil

One Pot of Strawberry Jam
One Tub of Ready Made Strawberry Frosting
(400g)

Preheat the oven to 160 Degrees C and line a 12 hole cupcake tin.

Place the chocolate in a food processor and blitz into fine pieces. Tip it into a large mixing bowl and stir in the rest of the dry cupcake ingredients.

Whisk the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl and then gradually add to dry ingredients, whisk together until silky and smooth. Pour the mixture into a jug and then fill the cupcake cases just over two thirds full. Place in the oven and bake for 18 minutes. Once cooked transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely before frosting.

Using a cupcake corer, take out the middle of the cupcake and fill with strawberry jam. I used a piping bag to do this. Then place the cored cupcake piece back on top to cover the jam. If you do not have a cupcake corer, an apple corer or the end of a piping nozzle work just as well.

In a large disposable piping bag with a 2D nozzle attached, place the strawberry frosting inside the bag and twist the end to avoid it coming out. Starting in the middle of the cupcake, squeeze down and then swirl around until all the cupcake is covered, pulling away gently to create the rose effect.