Strawberry Puffcakes | The Girl Who Ate Everything

Strawberry Puffcakes | The Girl Who Ate Everything  http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/

These I have to try~~

Strawberry Puffcakes

1 box chocolate cake mix (and eggs and oil package calls for)

Frosting:

½ cup fresh strawberries, hulled

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still slightly cold

3 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Chocolate Topping:

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

For the Cupcakes:

Line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners and bake cupcakes according to package directions. Let cupcakes cool

For the Frosting:

Place 1/2 cup of strawberries in a food processor or blender and process until pureed into liquid.

Beat butter and salt until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar slowly until combined. It will be dry but be patient...it will come together.

Add vanilla extract, and 4 Tablespoons of pureed strawberries. Mix until just blended.

Frost cooled cupcakes using the tip below.

Chill cupcakes in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to harden the frosting so that they are easier to dip. Sometimes in stick mine in the freezer to speed up the process.

Decorating Tip: An easy way to pipe frosting without using fancy decorating tips is to fill a Ziploc bag with some of the frosting and cut off one of the corners on the bottom of the bag to about the size of a nickel. Begin piping your frosting. I like to make a cone shape.

For the chocolate topping:

Place chocolate chips and oil in a microwave safe boil and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted. Let cool slightly before dipping your cupcakes. You don't want to melt the frosting right off!

Carefully dip the chilled cupcakes in the melted chocolate just once. At this point you can garnish with strawberry fans if desired. To make a strawberry fan just cut the stem off then make vertical slices starting from the bottom of the strawberry to the top, but not slicing all the way through. Then "fan" your strawberry and place on the cupcake.

Once dipped, place the cupcakes in the refrigerator so that the chocolate can set up. Your pan of finished cupcakes will weigh about 20 pounds. Just warning you. Consider this your work out for the day.

Serve chilled or pull them out of the fridge for about 15 minutes before serving (that's how I like them).