Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Filling and Strawberry Cream Frosting

I apologize for the long title. I do not know what else to call these cupcakes. I wanted to differentiate these cupcakes from the other usual chocolate cupcakes. Besides, these are very special cupcakes, at least in the eyes of my little family. Because these are the birthday cupcakes of my daughter. (Her birthday was two weeks ago, but I have been posting the dishes we had on her birthday one by one...)

These cupcakes are produced by the joint effort of fourth sister and fifth sister. Yup. I did not bake these goodies... They baked the cupcakes at my mother's house (where they live) and then frosted and decorated the cupcakes here at my house (where we celebrated Daughter's birthday). They even brought cupcake holders!





The recipe is loosely based on the Belgian Chocolate Cupcakes found at the Yummy Magazine, Oct 2007 issue. Tweaks made: Sisters added the chocolate cream filling, the strawberry cream frosting and they did not use Belgian chocolate, as we prefer bittersweet.


For the cupcakes:

1/2 C butter, melted
100 gms bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 C butter, softened
1 and 1/4 C sugar
2 eggs
2 T cocoa powder
1 t vanilla
1 and 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 C milk


For the chocolate cream filling:
1/2 C all-purpose cream
1 C chopped bittersweet chocolate


For the strawberry cream frosting:
1 C strawberry flavored cream, well-chilled
1/4 C caster sugar



1. Prepare the chocolate filling first. Heat the cream in low fire until very hot but not boiling. (You can also use the microwave.) Turn off heat and add in the chopped chocolate pieces. Stir until all the chocolate pieces are melted and everything is mixed thoroughly. Cool in refrigerator.
When chilled and firm enough to be handled, scoop out chocolate and form into small balls. Arrange on a baking tray and return to the refrigerator until ready to use.

2. To make the cupcake, melt the butter in a small pan. Turn off heat and stir in the chopped chocolate. Whisk until blended and set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare muffin pans by adding cupcake liners.

4. In a mixing bowl, with electric mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat until creamy. Stir in cocoa powder and vanilla.

5. Add the melted chocolate (we prepared in step 2).

6. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Stir this dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with milk. Blend until smooth (Do not overbeat.)

7. Scoop into paper-lined muffin pan and fill only half. Put in a chocolate cream ball (we prepared in step 1) in the middle. Then add some more cupcake batter until 3/4 full.

8. Bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool before frosting.

9. In a chilled bowl, with chilled paddles of the electric mixer, beat the strawberry cream and sugar until soft peaks form. Do not over-beat. Keep chilled until ready to frost.

10. Using a piping bag, decorate the cupcakes with the strawberry cream. Drizzle with chocolate sprinkles.


Result? Very moist chocolatey cupcakes with melted chocolate cream balls inside!!!

Daughter has to go around the cupcakes to blow all her candles!!!

Here in the Philippines, we do not celebrate Thanksgiving. We do not have an official Thanksgiving holiday. But for most Filipinos, and certainly for this little family, each birthday, and each New Year is already reason enough to celebrate and give thanks to our Creator for another blessed year. So every birthday, family and friends would gather and celebrate the occasion and do something nice for the celebrant. Extra attention is given when the celebrant is celebrating 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or 100 years old!!!


I am sharing this birthday cupcakes post to the World Food Day - Time to be Thankful event, hosted by Ivy of Kopiaste. The aim of this event is to bring awareness to everyone about the hunger problems that exist around the world and which seem to be getting worse day after day, specially after this huge worldwide economic crisis.

I have a lot to be thankful for. I also teach my kids to be thankful. I live in a Third World country. And yet, I have a very loving family. I have very loving parents, very supportive sisters and brother. I have a super-sweet, loving and patient husband. I have two beautiful and kind kids. I have lots of good friends. I have a loving and supportive church family. I have a house I can call a home. My husband has work. I have work. My kids go to school. We are free to go to Church and worship our God. We are blessed indeed.