Chocolate Heart Shaped Cupcakes Recipes

CHOCOLATE HEART CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with baking cups. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa, and chocolate. Whisk in cherry juice.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, then continue to simmer until bubbles recede and solids on bottom of pan begin to turn golden brown, about 6 minutes. Pour into sugar mixture; whisk until well combined and chocolate has melted. Whisk in eggs, then dry ingredients.
• Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake until tops spring back when lightly touched, 22 to 24 minutes. Let cool in tin 5 minutes; transfer to wire racks and let cool completely. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 12 (this will help create clean cuts).
• Use a 1 1/2-inch heart-shaped cutter to remove a 3/4-inch-deep heart from each of 6 cupcakes (removing a bit of additional cake, if desired, to create more room for frosting). Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large, plain round tip (such as Ateco #806) with frosting. Pipe frosting to fill heart cutouts. Pipe 1/4 cup frosting on remaining cupcakes. Top frosted cupcakes with heart cutouts. Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

CHOCOLATE HEART CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 30 regular-size muffin cups. Place 1 marble in each muffin cup between paper baking cup and muffin pan so baking cup takes on heart shape.
• Make cake batter as directed on box. Fill each cup two-thirds full of batter.
• Bake 14 to 15 minutes or until tops of cupcakes bounce back when touched and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on cooling rack.
• In large bowl, beat softened butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla with electric mixer on high speed 3 to 4 minutes or until frosting is light and fluffy. Add food color to make desired shade of pink.
• Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes with knife or use decorating bag fitted with plain tip. Top with candy sprinkles.

CHOCOLATE HEART SHAPED CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Microwave unsweetened chocolate and butter in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and 3 oz. white chocolate, chopped; stir just until blended.
• Spoon evenly into 10 paper-lined medium muffin cups. Insert a small (1/2-inch diameter) foil ball between each liner and muffin cup to form heart shape.
• Bake 28 to 30 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool on wire racks.
• Place remaining white chocolate in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 to 2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after each min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Spoon chocolate into plastic sandwich bag; cut a small piece from 1 of the bottom corners of bag. Close bag tightly, then pipe chocolate into a heart shape onto top of each cooled brownie. Top with gumdrop heart.

HEART-OF-MY-HEART CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Peel paper liners from cupcakes, if necessary. Cut rounded tops off cupcakes with serrated knife; set bottoms aside for later use.
• Use 1-inch cookie cutter to cut heart shape from each cupcake top; set cutouts aside.
• Spread 1 Tbsp. COOL WHIP onto bottom of each cupcake; cover with top of cupcake. Spoon remaining COOL WHIP into heart-shaped holes. Decorate with heart cutouts and candies.

HEART-SHAPED CHOCOLATE ÉCLAIRS

Steps:

• Prepare the pastry cream: Cut vanilla bean in half crosswise, then cut a slit lengthwise down each half. Use the edge of the knife to scrape out all the seeds. Discard the pods or reserve for another use.
• Combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, egg, egg yolks, milk, and vanilla seeds in a saucepan; whisk until well combined.
• Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom surface of the pan, until thick, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and whisk to release some steam. Add butter and keep stirring until melted. Pass through a fine sieve to remove any fibrous bits from the vanilla pod. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 to 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner (such as Silpat®).
• Combine butter, water, and salt for the pate choux in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until a buttery dough forms. Continue to cook and stir until a starchy film forms on the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat and continue stirring for 1 more minute.
• Transfer to a bowl. Add one egg and mix it in with a little dough. Once that's incorporated, mix it in with the remaining dough. Repeat with the second egg. Continue stirring until you have a very sticky dough. Use a spatula to clean off the whisk if necessary.
• Transfer the dough into a pastry bag and snip off the tip making a ½-inch opening. Pipe two 6-inch heart shapes on the prepared baking sheet. Start by making thin shapes and then pipe extra dough to make them thicker. To fine-tune the hearts, dip your fingers in water and fix any imperfections if desired.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until beautifully browned, about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, leave the pastries in the oven, and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Let sit until crispy and dried out, about 1 hour.
• Use a serrated knife to slice the hearts in half horizontally.
• Remove pastry cream from the refrigerator and transfer to a pastry bag. Generously pipe cream into the bottom half of each heart, then place the top halves on the cream.
• Heat cream in a saucepan until simmering.
• Place chocolate chips in a small bowl and pour hot cream over top. Let sit for 2 to 3 minutes, then whisk until chocolate has melted and ganache is thick and shiny. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
• Spoon ganache on top of each heart. Reserve any remaining ganache for another use. Refrigerate éclairs until the ganache is firm, about 15 minutes.
• Place éclairs on serving plates. Fill the center of each heart with raspberries and sift cocoa powder over top. Sift powdered sugar over just the raspberries and serve. (Each éclair is enough for two people.)