Devil's Food Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

What you need:

For the cupcakes:

• 1 box Devil's Food cake mix
• 1 box (5.9 oz) instant chocolate pudding (chocolate fudge is good, too!)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 Tbsp. strawberry syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. For the cupcakes: mix all ingredients together - I used my trusty KitchenAid on the stir setting.
2. Scoop batter into a muffin pan lined with cupcake tins - around 3/4 of the way full.
3. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes at 350* or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Sometimes I like to rotate them at 15 if they aren't quite done yet. Just for good measure.
4. Let the cupcakes rest in the pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. Let cool completely before frosting.
5. For the frosting: cream the butter first, then add syrup, vanilla, and salt. Don't worry if it looks like a gloopy mess - it'll come together!!
6. Add powdered sugar little by little and beat until fluffy and smooth.
7. Add frosting to a piping bag fitted with a tip, if desired, and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes. I did mine with an open star tip and made it look like a rose. Then I sprinkled on some pink sanding sugar for good measure :) Decorations are up to you!