- [Instructor] Hi guys, today I'm gonna show you
how to make these delicious chocolate cupcakes
with a silky smooth chocolate frosting
dusted with chocolate curls.
And not to worry, for all you fruit lovers,
I'm also gonna show you how to make
these delicious strawberry cupcakes
and show you how to make two different types of frosting
depending on how much strawberry flavor you'd like,
or you might decide to have both.
And special thanks to everybody
who voted in the poll on the Community tab.
I've never seen such a straight vote down the middle,
so I had to do both.
So in order to squeeze both of these recipes in,
I decided to turn this video into a voiceover.
Okay, first up the chocolate cupcakes.
You'll begin by adding two tablespoons
of dark chocolate chips into a large bowl.
To that you're also gonna add 1/2 a cup
of unsweetened cocoa powder,
and 1/2 a cup of hot water.
Then you just wanna let that sit
so that that hot water can start to melt the chocolate chips
as well as bloom the cocoa powder,
which basically just means to bring out its best flavor,
and then you wanna add a cup of sugar,
and whisk that up until nice and combined,
and then you wanna add two eggs,
one at a time, whisking in between each addition
just to make sure that they're nice and incorporated.
And then you're also gonna add 1/2 a cup of vegetable oil.
Just add it in slowly,
almost like you're making a salad dressing,
a little bit at a time.
That will make sure that it incorporates well.
And then you wanna add a teaspoon and a half
of vanilla extract.
Then I find it's easiest just to add your fine mesh sieve
over your bowl,
and you can sift in your ingredients that way.
So we're gonna add 2/3 cup of flour,
1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda,
and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.
And then you can just whisk that into the sieve,
sifting as you go,
and then combine it with the wet ingredients
until you have a nice smooth chocolate mixture.
Then for cupcake liners,
I really like these dark brown parchment paper liners.
I like them because they sort of disappear
into the cupcakes once they're baked,
and they make that frosting really pop.
And then go ahead and fill the papers
about 3/4 of the way full,
and then you wanna bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit
for about 18 minutes.
And then allow them to cool completely
before you attempt to frost them.
And the frosting is super easy.
It's this really delicious, silky smooth chocolate frosting,
and I find secret is to use cream cheese as a base.
I also like to use the whipped cream cheese
because I find that you'll just get
a softer frosting that way.
And then you're gonna add 1/4 cup
of unsweetened cocoa powder,
1 1/2 cup of powdered sugar,
and then you're gonna beat that together slowly,
just so you don't get a big dust cloud on your hands.
And then once it's all incorporated,
you can scrape down the bowl,
and then you wanna add a teaspoon of vanilla extract
and three quarters cup of heavy cream.
I really like to add the heavy cream with the cream cheese
because the texture somehow becomes
like a combination between whipped cream
and a cream cheese frosting.
Then you can pick your favorite star tip.
I'm using the 1C tip that came from this little tip kit,
and I'll leave you a link in the description
if you wanna use tips I'm using.
And then instead of sprinkles,
I like to use a bar of dark chocolate with a potato peeler.
I find you get the same effect as sprinkles,
but it's a little bit more sophisticated,
and it looks pretty and feels kind of fancy
for an occasion like Valentine's Day.
And when you peel back the papers
and cut into these cupcakes,
you will see why I love them so much.
If you have a chocolate lover in your life,
this is a must make for Valentine's Day.
Okay, next up, these delicious strawberry cupcakes.
You will love the combination of flavors,
because the cake is studded
with beautiful fresh strawberries
while the frosting is using dehydrated strawberries,
and that's how you're able to get the different variations
of frosting from light to dark,
and it's super easy to do.
Wait 'til you see how it comes together.
For the cake part, you're gonna add 3/4 cup
of melted cooled butter into a large bowl.
To that, you're also gonna add 1/4 cup of oil.
You can use vegetable oil, canola oil.
Then you're gonna add 3/4 cup of sugar,
two eggs, and you also wanna add a teaspoon
of vanilla extract,
and 1/2 a cup of just room temperature water.
And then for the dry ingredients,
you're gonna use 1 3/4 cup
of all purpose flour,
one teaspoon of baking powder,
and half a teaspoon of salt.
Whisk that together through your fine mesh sieve,
then you can slow only add your dry ingredients
to your wet ingredients a little bit at a time,
whisking in between each addition,
and then you're gonna add a cup of fresh strawberries
that have been diced,
and fold those in gently just until combined.
And then really you can use any cupcake liner you like.
I really love these pink and gold liners,
because I just think they look extra fancy
for an occasion like Valentine's Day.
And then you using your ice cream scooper,
go ahead and fill them up maybe two thirds of the way.
I don't like to fill it up too high because they do rise,
and I find when cupcakes rise too high,
it makes it really hard to frost.
And then you're gonna bake at 425
for about 16 to 17 minutes,
just until they're risen, golden brown,
and those berries are bursting through.
Okay, now for our delicious frosting.
So the secret with this frosting
is to use dehydrated strawberries.
They are full of flavor
and they whirl up beautifully in a food processor.
And basically, after you pulse them for a bit,
you'll have this like beautiful pink strawberry dust
that we're gonna use to flavor our frosting.
Then I'm gonna go back to my 16 ounces
of whipped cream cheese.
I just think it makes the best frosting,
in it goes, and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar,
and then I'm gonna use one tablespoon of the dust
for the very light pink,
and beat that together with the cream cheese
and the powdered sugar,
and then you're gonna add 1/3 of a cup of heavy cream,
and then you can beat that together.
And then you'll end up with this really delicious,
beautiful light pink frosting
that is full of strawberry flavor.
And then for this cupcake,
I'm using the 902 tip that came in the little tip kit.
I think it makes a really nice, casual swirl.
And then you can top your cupcake with a sliced strawberry.
And then for the darker strawberry frosting
which is really bursting with strawberry flavor,
just add the rest of that strawberry dust
back into the of frosting that's leftover,
and you'll end up with this beautiful color.
And in fact, I think it's kind of fun to have both.
Well, I hope you give these cupcakes a try
and they make whoever your sweetheart is on Valentine's Day
very happy, even if that sweetheart just happens to be you.
All right you guys, I'll see you back here next time.
Until then, bye.