Rich, fluffy chocolate cupcakes topped with a fruity strawberry buttercream that won’t melt in the heat. This is the ultimate summer cupcake for fruit and chocolate lovers alike! The flavors will remind you of a chocolate covered strawberry and will definitely have you coming back for seconds.

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Fun fact: this chocolate cupcake recipe is slowly converting my chocolate-cake-hating sister into a chocolate cake lover. We’re not there yet, but she’s eaten my chocolate cake the last few times I made it and LIKED it. We’ve had an absurd number of conversations about it, and we think that years of gross grocery store cakes turned her off from it. And I can’t really blame her. I don’t waste my calories on those cakes, either.

It’s amazing what can happen when you try chocolate cake the way it was meant to be eaten.

And I know humility is a virtue, but my chocolate cake is probably my favorite thing that I make. It’s soft and fluffy and takes days to dry out and is just SO good. It’s just the right amount of sweet and rich and flavorful. And it’s easily customizable—I often reduce the sugar to just 1 cup, especially if I plan to make a sweeter frosting.

So if you have a fruity dessert loving person in your life, you just might convert them to chocolate with these cupcakes. ;)

How to make chocolate strawberry cupcakes

These cupcakes are made just like my chocolate cake and are very simple—dare I say foolproof!

Sift and whisk together dry ingredients.

Whisk wet ingredients—except for coffee.

Add coffee (slowly, while whisking quickly).

Slowly add wet ingredients to low then mix exactly 2 minutes.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 to 3/4 full. Avoid over-filling the liners.

Bake.

Make the buttercream. You can also make this ahead of time, but it’s very simple and I like using it when freshly made.

Pipe, ideally using a 1M tip and silicone bag.

Enjoy!

Tips and notes for this recipe

Sifting is key

I’ve played with this recipe a lot over the years. Some attempts worked, like adding chocolate chips or substituting black chocolate or even adding some brown sugar and cinnamon to make a hot cocoa cake. But one of the things I learned quickly was that the method can’t change. Not sifting the flour will make a dense, rubbery cake. Trust me, sift your dry ingredients! (Although, I never sift sugar because we don’t have that kind of humidity here.)

Measure flour correctly

Like the previous tip, you want to be careful with your dry ingredients when baking. If you measure them incorrectly, you’ll have way too much and they will be dry or dense or even fall apart. I found out that if you spoon your flour into your measuring cup then level it off with the straight edge of a knife, you’ll get the exact right amount. In fact, I’ve tried weighing it and get exactly 136g (how much a cup of sugar should weigh) almost every time.

Use light coffee

If you use a bold coffee, it will still taste good but it might have a bit of a mocha-y taste. I’ve noticed a more generally loved flavor when I use light roast coffee. I also don’t make it particularly strong anymore, preferring a double shot of espresso plus enough hot water to equal 1 cup total.

Don’t over mix the buttercream

The freeze dried strawberries are what makes the buttercream “sturdy”. However, since they’re made from real fruit, they can create a gummy texture if you mix the buttercream too long. That’s why I don’t whip this like many of my other buttercreams. About a minute on high to smooth everything out is perfect.

You might also like:

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Black and White Oreo Cupcakes

Triple Chocolate Red Wine Cake

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Champagne Berry Coulis

Dark Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

Print

prep time: 25-30 minutes
bake time: 15-18 minutes
total time: 45 minutes (plus at least 30 minutes for the cupcakes to cool)

servings: 24

Ingredients:

1 ⅔ cups (335g) granulated sugar
1 ⅔ cups (226g) flour, sifted
¾ cup (75g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5g) baking soda
½ teaspoon (3g) sea salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup (236g) buttermilk, room temperature*
½ cup (108g) avocado oil (can sub vegetable or canola oil)
1 tablespoon (13g) pure vanilla extract
1 cup (240g) hot, light roast coffee (or hot water)
one batch sturdy strawberry buttercream
optional: silicone piping bag and 1M piping tip

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 325. Line one regular cupcake pan with cupcake liners (or spray with baking spray or even grease with butter and lightly sprinkle with flour—use what you have!). This is also a great time to set your coffee to percolate (unless using hot water or espresso and hot water, which is what I do).
Whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, sifting everything but the sugar (unless yours is fine enough to sift--go for it!). Set aside.
In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla together until well-blended and fully emulsified, about 1 minute.
Very, very slowly stream the hot coffee or water into the wet ingredients, whisking vigorously and constantly as you pour to avoid scrambling the eggs. Feel free to do this in segments if it’s easier. If you do scramble some of the eggs, you can run the mixture through your fine mesh sieve to remove the cooked egg bits.
Using the paddle attachment, turn your stand mixer to low (or use a hand mixer) and slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry. This should take about 30 seconds or so. The batter will clump up then thin out. Once you’ve poured all the wet ingredients, immediately turn off the mixer. Scrape down the bottom and sides. Beat on medium for exactly 2 minutes (set a timer).
Evenly divide batter between 24 cupcake liners (they should be somewhere between ⅔ and ¾ full). I found an ice cream scoop or large cookie scoop helps with this.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in a middle cupcake comes out with just a few moist crumbs (ideally not fully clean, as this could mean they’re over baked). Check early and rotate halfway if not using convection.
Let cool 5-10 minutes in the cupcake pan then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
While the cupcakes cool, make the sturdy strawberry buttercream**.
Frost using a 1M piping tip (and ideally a reusable piping bag!). Top with sprinkles for extra fun!

Enjoy! If not serving right away, store in an airtight container until ready to eat. Cupcakes will last for 3-5 days. Avoid refrigeration for more than an hour, as this can cause them to dry out.

Notes

*You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon white vinegar with enough room temperature whole milk to equal 1 cup total. Stir and let sit 10 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
**You can make the buttercream ahead of time, chill it, then let it come to room temperature on the counter for 1-2 hours while you make the cupcakes, just be sure to give it a good stir if it was refrigerated longer than overnight.