Valentine’s Day Cupcakes make such a delicious and festive treat to serve on Valentine’s Day. Decadent chocolate and luscious frosting make this an amazing cupcake recipe.
I absolutely love Valentine’s Day. From the red and pink and all of the hearts, the ideas are endless. I have been making Valentine’s Day Cakes and Valentine Cupcake Ideas for years.
It’s so much fun and kids love it for Valentine’s Day parties. We also make heart shaped cupcakes, Valentine’s Day Dirt Cake and Valentine Rice Krispie Treats.
Plus, for more options try one of these 31 pink desserts for more classics. For an easy no bake treat, make Valentine’s Day Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe
You know we keep things simple and this is really easy. The results are gorgeous, and they taste great. While the cupcakes look fancy the recipe is so simple.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- All-Purpose Flour. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup so you won’t pack too much flour into the cup.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. I like to use Hershey’s.
- Baking Soda. If you don’t have this, try one of the Best Baking Soda Substitutes.
- Eggs. Large eggs, room temperature.
- Buttermilk. This helps to make the cupcakes so moist. You can easily make Buttermilk if you don’t want to buy an entire bottle.
Frosting
- Unsalted butter. Softened at room temperature so it’s easy to combine.
- Powdered sugar. Sift to remove any lumps. The frosting will be smoother.
- Fresh Strawberries. Pureed to give the frosting the perfect strawberry taste.
- Milk. I like to use whole milk or heavy cream.
The entire recipe list can be found at the bottom of the post.
Variations
- Toppings. You can easily top these cupcakes with the chocolate covered strawberries or drizzle with chocolate syrup.
- Sprinkles. Red and pink sprinkles will make these cupcakes so fun and festive.
- Cupcake Liners. Add your favorite cupcake liners to make these even more festive.
- Candy. Top with Valentine candies.
- Fruit. You can make raspberry frosting instead of strawberry if desired.
How to Make Valentine’s Day Cupcakes
- Step 1 – Prepare oven and muffin pan – Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Step 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Then in a separate bowl, combine butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat until light and fluffy then beat in eggs on low speed. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Gradually add flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk and vanilla. Make sure to scrape down the bowl after each addition. Pour into the cupcake pan. Bake and allow to cool.
Step 3. Add strawberries to the food processor. Blend until they are smooth.
Step 4. Cream the butter in a large bowl using medium speed. You can use a stand mixer or hand mixer. Beat until smooth.
Step 5. Next, gradually add powdered sugar, alternating with milk. Fold in pureed strawberries.
Step 6. You can add food coloring if desired to the frosting. Then decorate cupcakes with frosting.
Step 7. Finally, top with chocolate covered strawberries.
Pro Tips
- Chocolate Flavored Cake Mix – This is such an easy recipe but you can use a box mix if you prefer. Add this easy homemade frosting or you can use a store bought frosting.
- Cookie Scoops – Save time and use a cookie scoop. I have a set of stainless steel cookie scoops that I love, and they make baking so much easier.
- Cool Cupcakes – Before frosting the cupcakes, make sure the cupcakes have cooled to room temperatures.
- Strawberry flavored Frosting – Use a piping bag to make a circular motion on the cupcakes with piping tip.
- Ingredients – Before combining ingredients make sure that the ingredients are at room temperature before mixing together.
- Change Cake – You can easily change the cupcake flavor to vanilla cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes, or strawberry cupcakes.
- Change the Frosting – This buttercream frosting is delicious, but cream cheese frosting would be delicious on these cupcakes.
- Freeze Dried Strawberries – Instead of pureeing the strawberries, mix in freeze dried strawberries in the frosting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the cupcake icing can be made in advance up to 24 hours. Place in fridge and then add the food coloring when ready to use.
The frosting may need to be beat with a mixer for a minute. This allows the frosting to make it fluffy again and easier to work with.
Store in airtight container for up to a week. If you top the cupcakes with a chocolate covered strawberry, we recommend placing the refrigerator.
You can make these ahead of time. Place the chocolate covered strawberries on the cupcakes when you are ready to serve.
These Valentine’s Day Cupcakes will last about a week if stored properly.
More Easy Valentines Day Desserts
- Easy Valentine’s Day Puppy Chow Recipe
- Heart Shaped Desserts
- Chocolate Heart-shaped Cupcakes
- Valentine’s Day Chocolate Covered Oreos
- Heart Shaped Brownies
- Rose Cupcakes
It’s your turn to make this cute Valentine’s Day cupcake recipe. Don’t forget to come back and leave a comment one you make chocolate cupcakes with strawberry frosting.
Valentine’s Day Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Strawberry Buttercream:
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar depending on consistency wanted
- 10 medium strawberries pureed
- 2 tablespoons milk half-and-half or heavy cream, depending on consistency
- Coloring optional
For the Toppings:
- 24 Chocolate Hearts (optional)
- Heart Sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs.
- Gradually add flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk and vanilla, scraping down the bowl after each addition, until well combined.
- Divide batter into cupcake liners.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before topping with the frosting.
For the Strawberry Frosting:
- Clean and cut strawberries and add to food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Add butter to large bowl or mixing bowl for stand mixer, beat until smooth and creamy.
- Gradually add powdered sugar, alternating with milk.
- Fold in pureed strawberries.
- Add food coloring if desired.
- Decorate cupcakes with frosting and top with the chocolate hearts and sprinkles. Enjoy!
