It helps that strawberry season and Valentine’s Day coincide because I just found my new favourite frosting which happens to be pink, not that an excuse is needed. Homemade strawberry compote is stirred into a silky cream cheese frosting for a seriously delicious topping for soft, dark chocolate cupcakes. There’s sweet, there’s creamy, there’s bittersweet, there’s tangy, all in one great cupcake.
My dense chocolate loaf batter made delish cupcakes the first time I tried and once I knew this strawberry frosting had to happen, the cake batter was a no brainer. I made a smaller batch this time, but the recipe scales easily. They’re soft and moist and I really enjoyed the bittersweet flavour with the fruity, sweet frosting (although you can sweeten the batter more too).
The star of the show really is the frosting though. Because pureed strawberries have so much liquid, cooking them down with some sugar and cornflour turns them into a jammy, compote-like consistency which is perfect. Plus, the strawberries are chopped instead of pureed so you’ll bite into strawberry pieces through the frosting which is just so, so yum!
The frosting needs time to firm up and set, so plan ahead. Cream cheese is inherently an ingredient with high moisture content, and when you add juicy berries to it, the frosting will be quite runny at first. Once it firms up, I preferred to just spread it on top of the cupcakes in a generous layer, but if you’d like to pipe it, make sure it’s thoroughly chilled so it holds its shape.
I hope you love these!
Please read the recipe notes before beginning.
Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the strawberry compote
- 200 gms strawberries (8 to 10 berries)
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tsps caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp cornflour + 1 tsp water
For the cupcake batter
- 3/4th cup all-purpose flour (90 gms)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 100 gms 70% to 75% dark chocolate, chopped
- 115 gms butter, at room temperature
- 3/4th cup soft brown sugar (160 gms)
- 1 egg, at room temperature (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup freshly boiled water (125 ml)
For the frosting
- 100 gms unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 150 gms cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup icing sugar (100 gms)
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp strawberry compote
Instructions
- I made the compote and baked the cupcakes on day one, then made the frosting and assembled the cupcakes on day two. I found this easier since there is some chilling time involved so spacing out the steps helped.
- To make the compote, combine the strawberries, sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a saucepan on low heat. Stir constantly until the fruit has softened and the liquid begins to look foamy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Combine the cornflour and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl, and add it to the saucepan. Continue stirring for another 2 to 3 minutes, letting the compote simmer and thicken. The liquid will coat the back of a spoon as it thickens. Turn off the heat and let the compote thicken further and cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or even overnight. It will thicken to a jam-like consistency which is easy to stir into the frosting.
- To make the cupcakes, first preheat the oven to 175 C and line 9 muffin moulds with cupcake liners.
- Melt the chocolate till smooth in a double boiler or microwave (in 10 second increments, stirring in between each). Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy with a hand mixer on medium speed. Next, beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the melted chocolate, and stir by hand till combined but do not over-mix.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt (if using). Fold it all in very gently till only a few streaks of flour remain. Now add the hot water, a little at a time, to prevent any lumps forming, and continue to fold the batter with a silicone spatula. I prefer doing this step by hand as a mixer could cause the hot water to splash here and there and make a mess.
- If you still see lumps (I often do, despite my best efforts), beat with the hand mixer on low speed for a few seconds until smooth. The batter is slightly runny.
- Divide the batter equally among the muffin moulds, filling them just about 3/4th of the way, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until they have risen, developed slightly crackly tops and a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the tray for 10 minutes and then place them on a wire rack to cool completely, without peeling the liners off. They will fall slightly as they cool and have fairly flat tops.
- To make the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer on low to medium speed, until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla, sift in the icing sugar and beat until combined. Now add 1/4 cup of the chilled compote and stir it in, adding a couple more tablespoons if you want a deeper colour and/or flavour. You will have about 1/2 cup compote in all, but adding the whole amount will make the frosting too runny and could cause it to split. Plus, it's super berry flavoured with just 1/4 cup. Store any leftover compote in the fridge and spread it on toast!
- Place the frosting in the fridge for at least 1 hour to be able to spread it onto the cupcakes, and about 4 hours if you want to pipe it. My recommendation is to avoid piping this as the combination of cream cheese and berry juices makes the frosting quite soft.
- When chilled, spread it generously onto the cupcakes, decorate with strawberry pieces or small, whole strawberries and dig in! Store in the fridge at all times, they will keep for 3 to 4 days. Happy baking!
Notes
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