Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients

• FOR THE CUPCAKES
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
• 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup warm water
• FOR THE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
• 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• pinch of fine grain sea salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 6 ounces strawberries, pureed
• 4-6 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

• FOR THE CUPCAKES
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla and water. Beat for about two minutes on medium speed until well combined.
• Using a large cookie scoop, distribute the batter between 24 muffin wells; about 3 tablespoons of batter per well.
• Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick entered into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool inside muffin tins for about 10 minutes.
• Remove cupcakes from muffin tins and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are cool, prepare your frosting.
• FOR THE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, cream butter on medium speed until fluffy. Turn your mixer down to low speed and slowly add in the confectioner’s sugar, and continue mixing until well blended.
• Add salt, vanilla, 3 tablespoons of heavy cream and strawberry puree. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add an additional 1 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy
• Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.

Notes