Vanilla Valentine's Day Cupcakes

Whoo! Snack is back for the staff at my school!  For all of you non-teachers, Friday's are FAT at most schools...we like to call them "Fat Fridays"...you know, treat day. At morning recess, the staff meet in the staffroom to schmooze over food and treats! 

Since I was on treats this week, I chose to make Valentine's Day cupcakes for my colleagues to enjoy. This time I made simple vanilla cupcakes with three kinds of frosting: pink buttercream, white cream cheese frosting and delicious chocolate buttercream frosting, (see recipe below) all topped with heart sprinkles.  The same heart sprinkles that I used for the eyes of my Valentine's Day Cake Pops!

I was inspired by tags created by Bakerella, and by Melissa, from Domesticated Lady.

I know, I need to get a circle punch!  When I made Duff's Cake Pops with tags, Nancy suggested that I buy some circle punches.  Haven't gotten around to it yet Nancy! Scissors did the trick, yet again this time!

I glued the tags onto some red popsicle sticks that I bought at Dollarama.

How cute!

Love the "Valentine, I think you're...WILD" tags!

Ghirardelli Chocolate Buttercream Frosting 

(Warning...this is sinful!)

6 tbsp butter softened

2-2/3 cups icing sugar

1/2 cup Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa

1/3 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

In bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy.  In a separate bowl, mix icing sugar with cocoa.  Blend sugar mixture with butter alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.  Beat until smooth.  Blend in vanilla.

(Frosts tops and sides of two, 9" layers.)

For other Valentine's Day ideas check out these posts:

Valentine's Day Cookies

Valentine's Day Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

Happy Valentine's Day!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Have you ever visited Ming's website called Ming Makes Cupcakes? My cousin Naomi sent me the link to her page a few months ago and I have finally tried a recipe form it. This Red Velvet recipe is one of her 33 delicious cupcake recipes. A perfect choice for Valentine's Day! On her site, it is Cupcake 4. However, she makes these cupcakes with a buttercream frosting, and I have used a cream cheese frosting.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
(Taken from Ming Makes Cupcakes)

1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 tbsp red food coloring
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, buttermilk, egg, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla.  While mixing at medium speed, gradually add dry mixture to wet mixture until just combined. Fill cupcake liners.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

The recipe was pretty easy to make.

Key ingredient...red food coloring.

Each cupcake formed such a nice dome shape.

Perfect for a thin layer of delicious cream cheese frosting.

That's how I like it!

Yum!

But others prefer loads of icing!  These ones turned out so beautifully. They are made with the same cake, but contain many more calories due to the excess amount of cream cheese frosting!

So what kind of a cupcake lover are you? 

Do you love a cupcake with a thin layer of frosting and more cake, or, a cupcake loaded with frosting and just a bit of cake? 

Valentine's Day Cake Pops

It's time to start thinking about Valentine's Day!  To give you some ideas, I will be posting a few Valentine's Day recipes over the next few weeks!

"Happy Valentine's Day sweetie, from one heart cake pop to another!"

Pictured above are most of the materials you will need to make these pops.

Materials you will need:

20 uncoated cake balls

wax paper

baking sheet

1 pound red chocolate candy coating

Deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl

20 lollipop sticks

40 white heart sprinkles

6-12 pink heart sprinkles (optional)

Styrofoam block

Black edible-ink pen 

For basic cake pop instructions click here.

I used these jumbo heart sprinkles that can be found almost anywhere around Valentine's Day.  I used the white hearts for the eyes and the pink hearts to make the bows.

I used the larger heart shaped cookie cutter as a guide to frame the heart pop.  The heart was not quite as big as the large cutter but not as small as the small cutter. To form the heart, I rolled out a regular ball and flattened it slightly. I then used the top part of the cookie cutter to shape the top of it and the bottom of the cutter to shape the bottom. 

Here's what they looked like pre-dipped. I used a vanilla cake and my own chocolate butter cream icing for these pops. After they set in the freezer for about 20 minutes, I dipped each lollipop stick into the red candy melts and inserted a stick about half way into each one.

I transferred the melted candy coating into a smaller narrower container.

Which made it easy to dip...

And remove!

After a little tap, tap, tap, I immediately adhered the heart eyes to the pops. Once they dried, I used my edible ink pen to add all of the details: the eyelashes, eyebrows and smiles.

All of the pops rested in a styrofoam block to continue drying before being packaged.

How cute...a family of heart cake pops!

All packed up and ready to be delivered! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Cookies

How about making your favourite person some Valentine's Day cookies this weekend?  

It would make them so happy!

Kitchen Stuff Plus has some really cute cookie cutters.

Use your favourite sugar cookie recipe and cut away!

Set up your work station.

Add food colouring to icing to make different shades of red and pink.

Decorate until your heart's content!

Tell someone you love them this Valentine's Day!

Then wrap up the cookies with love.

Trust me, they'll appreciate you even more than they already do!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Chocolate Cupcakes!

YUMMY! 

Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate!

 

Step 1-Bake your favourite chocolately, sweet, yummy chocolate cupcake.

Step 2-Once cooled, pipe with milk chocolate icing.

Step 3-Top with fondant heart cutouts.

STEP 4- Surprise your Valentine!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I love chocolate covered strawberries. 

They look and taste so good, and they really are so simple to make!

Rinse and dry strawberries well. I use paper towel to soak up all of the excess liquid.

Melt your favourite chocolate chips at 30 second intervals in the microwave. I used Ghirardelli once again! And yes...I cheated in a really bad way...but think about all of the dishes and the time that I saved by doing it this way instead of using a double broiler!  Dip strawberries in white chocoolate and place on wax paper. Let chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes. 

Melt opposite coloured chocolate.  Spoon into pastry bag and drip onto cooled strawberries.

Let set in fridge for another 10 minutes. 

Arrange on a serving platter. 

Enjoy!