Chocolate Berry 4th Of July Cupcakes

Blueberries, strawberries, and chocolate are 3 must-haves in our family for the 4th of July weekend, and these Chocolate Berry 4th Of July Cupcakes have all 3!

Yesterday our dear friends from Chicago–who we are to this day amazed that they are still here on this earth— stopped in to visit on their way to a family event. It was a brief overnight visit, but boy, did we pack in a whole bunch of beautiful life moments in those 15 hours!

We both have 3 children, around the same age (teens and preteens) so it was a lively and eventful visit.  We started the evening out with pre-dinner cocktails for the adults.  They were delicious Amerretto Sours –I will be posting the recipe soon.  We then got to work visiting & making dinner together.  We had these amazing cupcakes as a dessert, and they were perfect as it was July 2nd..my dear friend Sharon’s birthday!

I was sure I had birthday candles on hand, but as we all gathered to sing, I couldn’t find them. Not even one.  We had to make do with what I could find in the moment, and of course my friend Sharon was a great sport about pretending to blow out a cheesy plastic candle.

Isn’t she just full of life? Doesn’t she look great?  Despite our sweet birthday treat, she embraces a healthy lifestyle & is New Nostalgia’s new Health and Wellness Contributor.  I can just hear her laugh while looking at these pics and miss her already.  She is a ball of fun and we have had many, many laughs together.  She is a friend of my heart and we have had many tears together, too.  She is the one who came to take care of me the week after my mastectomy, and was everything I needed during that fragile time & more.  I was so happy to celebrate the woman she is yesterday, even if it was with a plastic candle!

We finished up our dessert and headed out to my in- laws pool house for an evening swim.  We stopped at my favorite local coffee shop and Sharon’s husband Porter treated us all to yummy beverages…lattes & toddy’s for the adults, granites for the kids.

After swimming we headed back home and made a fire to make apple s’mores.  We sat out by the fire and our friends shared pictures of their recent family mission trip to Uganda.  It was amazing to see what they did as a family there!  We then went inside and watched a few old movies of our 15 year old girl meeting their 15 year old boy when they were just 6 months old.  Needless to say, we laughed A LOT!

We got the kids settled down, the hubbies started dozing on the couches and Sharon and I girl talked.  The hubs eventually went to bed but not us girls!  Oh no, we stayed up gabbing until 2:45 am!

We woke up and I set up a ‘make your own waffle’ bar. It was a hit and I will write about it soon. The teens went for a run together while we packed up the car.  They were on the road by 9:30 am.  A quick but super fun and meaningful trip.

Back to the cupcakes, they were really delicious.  I cannot take credit for them, as my little baker girl, Avery, made them.  We found a simple chocolate cupcake & white frosting recipe online, and she whipped them up, frosted them, cut up all the fruit and decorated them.  She amazes me–she is quite talented for 11 years old!

These cupcakes were moist and are made from ingredients most can find in their cupboards.

The frosting was a perfect pairing, and the touch of fruit added color and a great fruity & festive finish.  I will be keeping this recipe as a simple go-to chocolate cupcake recipe, and pulling it out on all types of occasions, not just the 4th of July!

Enjoy!

Berry Chocolate 4th of July Cupcakes

{recipe source}

10 Tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (we used wheat flour)

White Frosting (recipe below)

Chopped strawberries & fresh blueberries

 

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with a mixer for 1 minute.

Stir in eggs and vanilla and beat.

Slowly add in cocoa powder and baking powder and mix until just combined.

While still mixing, alternate adding milk and flour into bowl until blended.

Evenly distribute batter into lined muffin tins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Top with white frosting (recipe below) and fresh berries.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

 

White Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-3 tablespoons milk

Beat butter with a mixer at medium-high speed until creamy.  Gradually beat in sugar until smooth.  Beat in vanilla and 2 tablespoons milk, adding additional milk if necessary for desired consistency.