T had another barbeque! She oh so kindly asked me to make dessert again. So of course I went to my usual, cupcakes!

She requested chocolate. Happy to oblige, but I wanted to jazz them up a bit. Raspberry chocolate sounded decadent. So I hustled to the store in search of raspberries. Come to find out the little flat they were selling was

four dollars!!!

I was not about to spend that kind of money on something as silly as raspberries, so I switched my idea to strawberry.

I used my go-to chocolate cake recipe and they turned out great!

aren't they darling?

Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

3/4 c butter

2 c sugar

3 eggs

2 t vanilla

2 c flour

3/4 c cocoa powder

1 t baking soda

3/4 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 1/2 c milk

chopped strawberries

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar in slowly beating after each addition (I usually like to add it in half or even quarter cups). Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Finally, beat in vanilla.

Time to add the dry and wet ingredients. Starting and ending with the flour mixture, add the dry ingredients and milk in alternating additions. Mine usually looks like this

(flour, milk, flour, milk, flour)

Fill lined cupcake tins about one-third full with batter. Sprinkle chopped strawberries, then add remaining batter until the cup is approximately two-thirds full. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 18-22 minutes (16-20 for minis).

My trusty recipe yields 24-30 cupcakes. However. I halved the recipe, used mini cupcakes and came just short of 4 dozen. So be prepared to eat a lot of cupcakes.

As for the frosting, I wish I could say I used a recipe. But I don't. I just eyeball it. The ingredients are

butter

vanilla

milk

cocoa powder

powdered sugar

I always start with creaming butter and adding one cup of powdered sugar (and cocoa for this particular recipe). I'll add my liquid next (this time vanilla and milk), then make it to the proper consistency with however much powdered sugar is needed.

Top it with a quartered strawberry and there you have it! Delicious strawberry chocolate cupcakes.