I♥cuppycakes!

Iron Cupcake #4: [Summer Berries]

Ah Iron Cupcake. How I heart thee.

I’m not sure if you know this about me but I’m kind of a cupcake event freak addict. I know I know. I hide it well. But when I find one I get a little giddy. I think it’s because I find a lot (See Nikki? 2 words!) of inspiration from themes that someone else chose for me. Don’t ask me why but ideas seem to flow more freely after I have the theme figured out. I know. I’m wackadoo.

This month’s theme is summer berries and here in California the sweet strawberry goodness is abundant. I’m buying strawberries by the case every week from Costco. You can often find Hubs hulling strawberries by the bowlful for an after dinner treat. He even offered to help hull the strawberries for this recipe without me even asking. It’s pretty darn cute how much he loves his Oxo strawberry huller. So I knew as soon as I saw the theme I would be using strawberries.

But finding the right time to bake seems harder in the summer for a couple reasons:
(1) I become a lazy baker in the summer
(2) It’s harder to find ppl to give away my goodies during bikini/diet season.

Thankfully Father’s Day gave me a perfect opportunity to bake. *fist pump*

Now I know what you’re thinking… What’s up with the pirate theme, CB? *shrug* What can I say? I’m a sucker for cornball names and themes. And flowers and ladybugs didn’t seem very manly for a Father’s Day cupcake. Arrrgh matey? (That’s pirate talk for “Ok friend?”.) No more questions or you’ll be walking the plank.

Happy (belated) Father’s day to all the dads out there.

Thanks to IC’s sponsors this month–
*A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
*A groovy linocut piece from BLOCKHEAD PRESS http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6108705
*A sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin’ Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
*A sweet artist piece CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382
*HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com
*HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com
*JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com
*TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com
*A t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/
* 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com

Straw-Berried Treasure Cupcakes <– Get it? I crack myself up!
Recipe adapted from Cupcakes by Martha Stewart & 4 Ingredient Cookbook

Print this recipe

Makes about 18 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For one-bowl chocolate cupcakes
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder (I used E. Guittard unsweetened red dutch process cocoa)
1-1/2 sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm water

18 strawberries, wash, pat dry and tops removed

For marshmallow cream cheese frosting
2 jars (7oz each) marshmallow creme
2-8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used Neufchatel cheese)

brown sugar, garnish

To make cupcakes—
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare cupcake pan with liners.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking power and salt. Reduce speed to low and add eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract and water.

Fill cupcake liners about 1/2-2/3 full. Bake for about 17-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting—
In a stand mixer, fitted with a flat beater, combine marshmallow creme and cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy.

To assemble cupcakes—
Remove the center of the cupcake using the cone method. (I used a 1.5″ cookie cutter as a guideline.) Insert strawberry into the cupcake. Using a Magic Tip 7ST tip (or your favorite star tip) pipe the frosting on the cupcake. Garnish with some brown sugar on top. (Don’t skip the brown sugar. Trust me.)

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A+
I always know when he likes a cupcake recipe when he eats more than 1 without me asking if he wants another one. He’s a cream cheese frosting purist but said that the marshmallow creme added a yummy combination.

Wifey rating: A+
This chocolate “cake” was so easy and fast to make. That Martha is a genius! Definitely bumped my current go-to recipe off the list. I love the chocolate, strawberry and marshmallow+cream cheese frosting combination. The sprinkle of brown sugar on top made for a perfect sweet crunchy bite!

Other rating: A+
I brought the cupcakes over for a family Father’s day party and T’s dad raved that this was the best cupcake I’ve baked so far! (And trust me. He’s eaten ALOT of my cupcakes!)