Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

 "Chocolate Covered Strawberry #1" -- oil on canvas 6x6" -- Margie Guyot

"Chocolate Covered Strawberry #2" -- oil on canvas 6x6" -- Margie Guyot

Len Mayhew, owner and baker at Simplycupcakes, made this gorgeous cupcake this morning.  Yes, that's a slice of fresh strawberry on the top.  Couldn't dilly-dally -- had to paint these as soon as I got home.  It's made from strawberry cake (!), with chocolate ganache, strawberry buttercream, fresh strawberry slice and sprinkles of some kind of sugar (little white balls).  It smells wonderful!

It was a typically cloudy, dreary day.  By 4 PM I had to quit painting -- it was just too dark to see what I was doing.  Since I plan on doing more paintings from this one, I removed the strawberry slice and gave it to Henny Penny, my studio chicken.  Packed the cupcake safely away (so the studio kitties won't lick it).  I've always got strawberries in the fridge, so I can easily cut a replacement.