Cupcakes are generally very easy to make, and almost everyone loves them. Especially if there’s chocolate. These tasty little chocolate treats are filled with homemade strawberry jam and topped with rich strawberry buttercream. Since they are in season, they are a fantastic accompaniment to desserts. The flavour is well-balanced between chocolate and strawberries, and they are perfect with afternoon coffee.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
120 grams plain flour
100 grams sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
⅓ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
6 tablespoons boiling water
2 tablespoons oil
For the filling
50 grams strawberry jam
For the frosting
100 grams butter, softened
3 tablespoons strawberry jam
200 grams icing sugar, sifted
Preparation
Sift the plain flour right into a large bowl, sift the cocoa powder over it, then add the baking soda and the sugar and whisk everything very well. Add the boiling water, oil and the vanilla bean paste and mix with a spatula until combined. Do not overmix it, because it will make the cupcakes tough. Immediately pour the batter between in 6 standard muffin cups lined with paper liners and bake them, in a preheated oven, at 190°C (375°F), for about 12-15 minutes. Let them cool completely on a wire rack before filling and decorating.
To make the strawberry buttercream, place the softened butter in a large bowl and beat it with an electric mixer on high for about 2 minutes. Add the strawberry jam and blend really well. Finally, sift in the icing sugar in three additions, blend well and beat until smooth and creamy. If you want a thinner buttercream, add another tablespoon of the jam.
When the cupcakes are baked, take out about a teaspoon out of each cupcake (use a teaspoon or an apple corer), then add a heaping teaspoon of the jam. Place the buttercream in a decorating bag fitted with a large nozzle (Wilton 1M or 1G) and pipe a generous swirl on top of each cupcake. Yields 6 cupcakes.
