Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

You really cant go wrong when you present your true love with chocolate dipped strawberries.  If you present them with a chocolate dipped strawberry on top of a delicious strawberry cupcake - bonus points.

It's February and that means that Valentine's Day is right around the corner.  And nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like chocolate and strawberries.

These cupcake really are amazing and they taste just as good as they look.  If you want to impress your Valentine with a special treat this Valentine's Day - I recommend chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes.

Place strawberries in a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes.

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Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes
12 ounces frozen whole strawberries, thawed
3/4 cup whole milk
6 egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 Tablespoons butter, room temperature

Strawberry Buttercream
10 egg whites
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
40-48 Tablespoons butter, softened

Chocolate Ganache
2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate
4 Tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2-3 Tablespoons water

Garnish
12 chocolate dipped strawberries

Allow to cool.  Press fruit through a sieve into a bowl. 

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Reserve Solids.

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Pour strawberry  sauce into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup and thick and syrupy.

Whisk milk into reduced strawberry juice.  Whisk in egg whites and vanilla.

Add butter, 1 Tablespoon at a time. 

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Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl of mixer.

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Add milk, half at a time and beat until just combined.  (I added a little bit of pink food coloring too.)

Scoop batter into 12 paper lined jumbo cupcake tins.  Bake 23 minutes at 350.  Cool on wire racks.

Prepare strawberry buttercream.
Whisk together egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in bowl of standing mixer.  Set over double boiler and cook until foamy and warm to the touch.

Transfer bowl to mixer and whisk on high until stiff peaks form.

Switch to flat beater and beat in butter, 1 Tablespoon at a time.

Beat in strawberry solids and a drop of pink food coloring.

Pipe a circle of strawberry buttercream on top of each strawberry cupcake.

Refrigerate cupcakes while you prepare ganache.  Heat chocolate and cream in microwave for 1 minute.  Stir to combine.

Whisk in powdered sugar and enough water to make a smooth, glossy, spreadable consistency.

Spoon a Tablespoon of ganache over each chilled cupcake.  Refrigerate 5-10 minutes.

Pipe a small amount of buttercream over ganache and garnish with a chocolate dipped strawberry.

There you have it - the perfect Valentine's day treat. 
Ciao!

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