Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a 12-cup muffin tin with your favorite cupcake liners. Doing this first means you won’t have to scramble later, trust me, it makes everything smoother.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Just mix until everything looks even, no need to overthink it.

In another bowl, stir together the water, vegetable oil, and melted butter. Add the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla extract, and if you want a tiny flavor boost, sprinkle in a pinch of espresso powder, it makes the chocolate taste extra rich without tasting like coffee.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and gently fold everything together with a spatula. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so none of that chocolatey goodness gets left behind. The batter should be smooth, shiny, and just begging to go into your liners.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling each about three-quarters full. This helps them rise nicely without spilling over.

Bake for around 24 minutes, or until the tops bounce back lightly when you touch them. Move them to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes cool, blitz the dried strawberries into a fine powder. This little trick makes your frosting pop with real strawberry flavor.

Beat the softened butter until it’s light and creamy, then slowly mix in powdered sugar, strawberry powder, and strawberry extract. Keep beating until fluffy, then add a splash of milk until it spreads like a dream. Taste as you go, you absolutely deserve to sneak a little!

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, frost them however your heart desires, pipe, swirl, spread, sprinkle, go wild! There’s no wrong way when it comes to frosting. Enjoy!