Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

Oh my gosh, I have really out done myself this time.  As I am sitting here writing this blog, I am suffering from a tummy ache from stuffing my face with one to many of these cupcakes.  I've always had an obsession with chocolate covered fruit, sign me up for the cheesy chocolate fountains at any major celebratory event.  Or heck, sign me up for one in my kitchen!  What's not to love about chocolate and fruit?  Two of natures sweetest treats mixed together could only mean more sweetness.
When I decided to try this cupcake the image I had in my mind was a cupcake that looked like a chocolate covered strawberry.  I kept it as simple as possible, a strawberry cake with a chocolate topping.  Here's what you need:
1 Box white cake mix (plus ingredients asked for on box: usually water, oil and eggs)
1 pint fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
4 Tablespoons water
melting chocolates

Clean your berries, remove stems and roughly chop them.  In a bowl mix the chopped berries with the sugar and water.

Let set for 1 hour, then strain and reserve the strawberry juice.

Make the cake according to package directions with the following alterations: 
1. Use your reserved strawberry juice in place of the water.  But make sure you have the correct amount of liquid.  For example if the cake mix calls for 1 cup water and you only have 3/4 cups juice, use the juice and supplement in 1/4 cup water.  Or if the mix calls for 1 cup water and you have a 1 1/2 cups juice, only use 1 cup.
2. Gently fold in your chopped strawberries right before baking.

Prepare cupcake pans according to box directions (with cooking spray or liners) and bake as directed.  When they are finished baking, remove them from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.

 
Now, on to your melting chocolates.  The topping can be accomplished one of two ways, If you found melting chocolates at your local store you can melt them in a double boiler (a stainless steel bowl over a simmering pot of water) be careful to not allow any water to come in contact with the chocolate.  Or you can search out a microwavable version of dipping chocolate.  If this is the route you choose, follow the directions on the package.  

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, dip them in the chocolate.  make a swirl motion as you pull the cake out of the dip to avoid lines or streaks in your topping.  Give the chocolate time to set, then enjoy!  If you want a fancier cupcake, you can melt white chocolate as well and drizzle over top.