Today’s Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes feature a luscious, homemade strawberry buttercream and are garnished with that most romantic of desserts, chocolate-covered strawberries, resulting in a dessert that is as gorgeous as it is delicious.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes Recipe

A decadent cupcake for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries or really any occasion that should be marked with a special treat, these Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes are deceptively simple to make and are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Chocolate-covered strawberries evoke a feeling of luxury and indulgence, making them seem like they would be harder to make at home than they are – but they really couldn’t be simpler. If you can operate a microwave, you can make gourmet-quality chocolate-covered strawberries. Just follow our tips below for the best experience.

Because I wanted to focus my time on making the perfect strawberry buttercream frosting and making the chocolate-covered strawberries, I took a shortcut and used boxed chocolate cake mix. Of course, you can use a from-scratch recipe, but the real heroes here are the chocolate-covered strawberries and the strawberry frosting – I guarantee no one will even notice that you used a boxed cake mix.

Just a note on using strawberry extract, which I recommend in this recipe: For my Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes, I made our frosting with strawberry juice that I extracted by boiling strawberries in water and straining. That method will work for this recipe, but it’s a lot easier to use the strawberry flavor extract and I find it easier to control the flavor using the extract as it’s more concentrated than any homemade juice. (Not to mention, fresh strawberries can vary in flavor intensity – sometimes they are downright flavorless.)

I’ve also experimented with grinding up dehydrated strawberries in a smoothie blender and using that to flavor frosting which works well but is more work and if you don’t grind them up fine enough, it can leave your frosting with a gritty texture.

To make these cupcakes even more decadent, you can add an optional filling: core the cupcakes with a cupcake corer and fill with diced strawberries, chocolate ganache, or additional strawberry frosting.

Can these chocolate-covered strawberry cupcakes be frozen? Yes, you can freeze the unfrosted cupcakes by placing in an airtight freezer bag or your favorite freezer containers for up to two months (this set of freezer containers is a crazy bargain). You can also freeze the frosting and mix well before using, however the chocolate-covered strawberries will not freeze well.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcake Ingredients

• Chocolate Cake Mix (plus ingredients called for on the box)
• Strawberries
• Milk Chocolate Chips
• Butter, softened
• Powdered Icing Sugar, as needed
• Milk or Cream, as needed
• Strawberry Extract

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

Tip: if you can’t find strawberry extract, you can use 1oz finely ground dehydrated strawberries instead.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

• Electric mixer <– this is a great hand mixer if you don’t want to make the investment into a stand mixer
• Cupcake pan
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Large mixing bowl
• Piping bag with large star tip <– a basic piping set will have all you need
• Cupcake Scoop
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Spoon or Spatula <– I like these spatulas because they are one solid piece and don’t have removable heads for bacteria to get trapped underneath. Plus they are heat-resistant and have a lifetime warranty.

How to Make Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

Prepare the chocolate cake mix according to package directions.

As the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the chocolate-covered strawberries.

Wash and then completely dry the strawberries. If desired, remove the green stem from the strawberries. Discard any strawberries with soft spots.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to set the coated strawberries on.

Place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 35 second increments, stirring well in between each reheating until completely melted and silky smooth.

Using a toothpick or a dipping tool, dip each strawberry into the melted chocolate chips and swirl to coat each strawberry completely.

Place the chocolate-coated strawberries on the prepared baking sheet to allow the chocolate to set.

Allow the chocolate on the strawberries to set for at least 45 minutes before storing or using them to decorate the cupcakes.

For the strawberry buttercream, beat the butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.

Add the milk and strawberry extract and beat until combined.

Adjust the texture or flavor of the frosting, as needed, with additional sugar, milk or strawberry extract.

Scoop the buttercream into a piping bag fit with a large star tip.

Swirl the strawberry buttercream onto the cooled chocolate cupcakes. Place the piping tip just over the center of the cupcake and apply gentle pressure on the piping bag as you gently rotate your wrist to swirl the frosting out towards the edge of the cupcake, and then gently swirl back towards the middle to create the double swirl of frosting that you see in our pictures.

If you have any remaining melted chocolate, add a teaspoon or so on top of each cupcake before topping each cupcake with a chocolate-covered strawberry.

Makes 18 cupcakes.

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Grab your free printable recipe card for our chocolate-covered strawberry cupcakes recipe:

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Yield: 18 Cupcakes

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

Print

Decadent Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes featuring a luscious, homemade strawberry buttercream and freshly-dipped, chocolate-covered strawberries. A deceptively simple dessert that is as gorgeous as it is delicious.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 22 minutes

Additional Time 25 minutes

Total Time 52 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix (plus ingredients called for on the box)
• 18 Strawberries
• 3/4 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup Butter, softened
• 4-5 cups Powdered Icing Sugar, as needed
• 2-3 Tablespoons Milk or Cream, as needed
• 1 teaspoon Strawberry Extract

Instructions

1. Prepare the chocolate cake mix according to package directions.
2. As the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the chocolate-covered strawberries.
3. Wash and then completely dry the strawberries. If desired, remove the green stem from the strawberries. Discard any strawberries with soft spots.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to set the coated strawberries on.
5. Place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 35 second increments, stirring well in between each reheating until completely melted and silky smooth.
6. Using a toothpick or a dipping tool, dip each strawberry into the melted chocolate chips and swirl to coat each strawberry completely.
7. Place the chocolate-coated strawberries on the prepared baking sheet to allow the chocolate to set.
8. Allow the chocolate on the strawberries to set for at least 45 minutes before storing or using them to decorate the cupcakes.
9. For the strawberry buttercream, beat the butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.
10. Add the milk and strawberry extract and beat until combined.
11. Adjust the texture or flavor of the frosting, as needed, with additional sugar, milk or strawberry extract.
12. Scoop the buttercream into a piping bag fit with a large star tip.
13. Swirl the strawberry buttercream onto the cooled chocolate cupcakes. Place the piping tip just over the center of the cupcake and apply gentle pressure on the piping bag as you gently rotate your wrist to swirl the frosting out towards the edge of the cupcake, and then gently swirl back towards the middle to create the double swirl of frosting that you see in our pictures.
14. If you have any remaining melted chocolate, add a teaspoon or so on top of each cupcake before topping each cupcake with a chocolate-covered strawberry.

Notes

Tips for the Best Chocolate-Covered Strawberries:

• Prepare the strawberries within 24 hours of when you plan on serving the cupcakes to avoid them becoming mushy.
• Use fresh, ripe strawberries with no soft spots. Avoid strawberries with white tips/shoulders as they lack flavor.
• After washing your strawberries, dry them well with a paper towel and allow to air-dry until no water remains. Water causes chocolate to seize up (taking on a gritty texture) so you don't want to get any water in your melted chocolate.
• Use room temperature strawberries (as cold strawberries will give off moisture as they warm up)
• After making the chocolate-covered strawberries, store them in a container lined with paper towels in a cool spot (not the fridge) until ready to use. 

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Gusteau's - Strawberry Flavor Bakery Emulsion, 4 fl oz (100ml) (Strawberry)
• 
  Ghirardelli Melting Wafers Variety Pack with Ghirardelli White Chocolate Melting Wafers and Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers. One Stop Shopping for the Best Tasting Melting Chocolate Wafers.
• 
  Cake Decorating Supplies Kit for Beginners, Set of 137, Baking Pastry Tools, 1 Turntable stand-55 Numbered Icing Tips with Pattern Chart, Angled Spatula, 8 Russian Piping nozzles-Baking Tools

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

18

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 616Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 91mgCarbohydrates: 128gFiber: 1gSugar: 124gProtein: 1g

Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.

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I hope whoever you share these amazing cupcakes with loves them as much as my family did!

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