Day 959's Valentine's treat recipe

Chocolate-covered strawberries are a pretty cliche thing to eat on Valentine's Day, but the combination is pretty irresistible. Instead, I decided to make chocolate cupcakes with my favorite strawberry icing.


The dark chocolate cupcake recipe* is Ina Garten's (and that peanut butter icing is delicious too, by the way) and the stawberry icing is supposedly the recipe from Sprinkles (I think I found it on Smitten Kitchen last year). It's so delicious I could eat it with a spoon. I used a Ziploc bag as a stand-in for a pastry bag and topped them with a light dusting of red decorating sugar.


Strawberry Icing
1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
pinch of course salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor, and process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed and slowly add sugar. Beat until combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree** (I add it to taste) and mix until just blended. Do not overmix; the consistency should be dense and creamy -- like ice cream.

Ice your cupcakes and enjoy!

* The recipe says it makes 14-15, but I got 2 dozen. The icing covered all but four, which I put in the freezer. It also says to bake for 22 minutes, but I checked them at 20 and they were done. 19 minutes probably would have worked, too so keep an eye on them.
** I also added a bit of red food coloring to get a brighter pink.