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The title of this post is not a joke. I took a classic Valentine's day dessert - the beloved chocolate covered strawberry, and stuffed it with chocolate cake.

You have heard of cake pops right? Well, for this recipe, you basically take the most delicious chocolate cake pop you have ever had, stuff it into a strawberry, and then dunk it in melted chocolate. Add some sprinkles if you're feeling festive!

YES.

Just a warning, they take some patience, and time, and love. But they are so worth it. This has got to be the best Valentine's Day Dessert EVER. #bestwifeaward

I got tired of stuffing/dipping the strawberries, so I ended up doing about 25 strawberries and 10 cake balls. But this recipe would probably make 35-40 strawberries if you used all of the cake pop mixture as strawberry stuffing.

Chocolate Cake Stuffed Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Makes: ~30 stuffed strawberries (you may have some extra filling)

Ingredients
1 chocolate cake mix, prepared per package instructions (but without oil/butter)
1/2 of a 16oz tub of store-bought chocolate frosting
2 lbs fresh strawberries (approximately 35 strawberries)
1 - 1.5 bags chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
coconut oil (optional)
seasonal sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the cake mix per package instructions.

TIP: As I mentioned above, leave out the oil/butter/whatever fat your cake mix calls for. I have discovered that if the cake is too greasy, oil can ooze out after being dipped in chocolate.

Allow the cake to cool completely (I usually bake it the night before), then cut it into small squares. Next up, grind up the cake. It works best to use a food processor for this step. You will probably have to do this in batches unless you have a giant food processor. If you don't have one, you can crumble the cake with your fingers -- just try to get it to as fine a crumb as possible.

After each batch is ground up, transfer it back into your cake pan until all of the cake has been processed.

TIP: Reserve a few tablespoons of crumbs to use as sprinkles!

Scoop about half of the canned icing into the cake crumbs. Start with less, then add more as needed. You can't take it out but you can always add more! Now, take off your rings, roll up your sleeves, and get in there with your hands to mash everything together. It's hard to explain exactly what you're looking for, but the crumbs and frosting should come together into a "cookie dough" like texture. If it seems too dry, add more frosting until you get the right "dough" consistency.

TIP: The best method for this is to put the blob of frosting right in the middle of the bowl/crumbs. Push the crumbs from the outside into the center, and keep doing that so you don't end up with straight frosting all over your fingers.

Once your cake pop stuffing is ready, prepare your strawberries. Hold each strawberry by the top and cut a "V" shape into the bottom. This "V" will help to hold the cake pop stuffing in place.

To stuff the strawberries, take a pinch of the cake pop mixture and press it into the bottom of the strawberry, forming the cake pop dough up and around the strawberry and molding it into a "berry" shape.

After all berries have been stuffed, dip them in chocolate! Melt your chocolate chips in the microwave (30 second intervals, stirring in between, thinning with some coconut oil if need be).

TIP: Don't use TOO much coconut oil (like I did) or you will have a hard time getting your chocolate to set and they will get melty when you pick them up!

Holding each strawberry by its stem, carefully dip into the chocolate, one side at a time, then set aside on a wax paper covered cookie sheet to harden.