Mini Choc Fudge Cupcakes With Strawberries

There's a few wonderful things about living in Queensland. For one, winter doesn't last very long and we have more than half the year of beautiful tropical summer weather, and summer fruit. For that we pay the price by sweltering through the humidity, but when I sit down with a punnet of strawberries or a sticky mango, I tend to think its well worth it.
Since the February floods, everything has been so expensive, due to crop damage I suppose. Bananas are at $15.00 a kg at the moment and up until very recently, you couldn't buy a punnet of strawberries for under $5.00. But the warmer weather is on its way and prices are dropping. Hence I found myself with a punnet of strawberries and a million ideas whizzing through my head.
Chocolate and Strawberries.
Does that combination ever fail?
I think not.

MINI CHOC FUDGE CUPCAKES WITH STRAWBERRIES

250g butter
3/4 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180C.
Melt the butter and the sugar in a saucepan and stir. Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa into a bowl. Pour the butter mixture, eggs, and vanilla into the flour mixture and combine thoroughly. Add the chocolate chips and stir through. Spoon the mixture into a silicone mini muffin tray (alternatively muffin cases) and cook for 20 minutes or until firm. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing. Ice with strawberry butter icing and slices of strawberry.

NOTES: To make icing, use strawberry jam for flavouring and for that subtle pink colouring. Recipe makes approximately 12 regular sized cupcakes, and about 35 mini cupcakes.

 Just because they photographed so well...I couldn't resist!!