Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

I can't think of a better way to bid farewell to winter and usher in the start of spring than my newest cupcake, the Chocolate Covered Strawberry.  I know I haven't been posting a lot lately on the blog.  I've been keeping pretty busy with Suzy Sweet Tooth orders, as well as work and getting ready for my upcoming wedding in May.  These new cupcakes are the perfect thing to get me back in the swing of things.  They are super cute, super tasty, and look fabulous on my brand new cupcake stand (thank you Crate & Barrel clearance!).


The cake for these cupcakes is a recipe I just came up with today for a dark chocolate cake.  It is moist but fluffy, like my normal chocolate cake, thanks to some sour cream and buttermilk and a few other yummy ingredients.  But unlike my normal chocolate cake it is made with Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder.  And I think I struck gold with this one-- it's so rich and decadent while still light and fluffy.  


Each cupcake is frosted with a cream cheese icing made with fresh strawberries.  It's just the right pair with the rich cake, because it adds a bright, fruity note to counter the decadence of the cake, just like a chocolate dipped strawberry itself.  On top of that is a little swirl of my chocolate buttercream.  And to finish them off is a drizzle of melted semisweet chocolate.  I love the look of the drizzle; it conjures up the image of a chocolate covered strawberry.  They look good enough to eat.  ...And they taste good enough for seconds!

To order these or any other Suzy Sweet Tooth cupcakes, please email me at susangietl@hotmail.com.