These Valentine’s Day Cupcakes are perfect for sharing with your loved one or ones this Valentine’s Day. They are chocolate cupcakes, chocolate buttercream with a chocolate geometric heart decoration!
It is that time of year again when it seems like everybody is in love or coupled up and stores are filled with love hearts and balloons, but worry not! These cupcakes are perfect for sharing with everyone you love: friends, family, colleagues, or even neighbours. This recipe makes 12 so there are plenty to go around.
Reasons To Love This Recipe
Geometric Heart Topper – These Geometric Hearts are so popular at the moment they are literally everywhere and they are super easy to make. I made this solid chocolate because my taste testers are chocolate obsessed but you can fill them with cookie dough or leftover cake just head down to the alternatives section to find out how.
Simple and Easy Chocolate Cupcake – This is the same chocolate recipe that I have used for my Chocolate & Strawberry Cupcakes. It is light, moist (sorry!) and just utterly chocolatey and delicious.
Perfect for sharing – As I said above this recipe makes 12 cupcakes so perfect if you are sharing Valentine’s Day with your colleagues or friends this year. Or even if you are having a party to celebrate.
Before you Start Baking
So, before you start baking line your muffin tray with your cupcake cases. I use these Baking Cups. I am obsessed with them and they have so many new colours and designs! The best thing about them is that they hold their shape when baking so you can put them straight onto a flat baking tray.
Related Recipes
Chocolate & Strawberry Cupcakes
Before you start baking you also need to preheat your oven. This is super important as it means as soon as your cupcake batter is ready, it can go straight in the oven. I wouldn’t recommend leaving them out of the oven once they are all mixed and ready to go. The raising agent starts working as soon as it comes into contact with liquid so you need to be quick.
Geometric Hearts
You can do this at any point I prefer to do it first because they are solid chocolate it gives them time to set. So, they are ready when you come to decorate your cupcakes.
I used a Silicone Geometric Heart Mould to make these. I made these with white chocolate but you can use milk or dark if you prefer.
Melt ¾ of the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave. I did this for 20-second bursts stirring in between until completely melted. Once it was completely melted remove from the microwave and add in the other ¼ of chocolate. Stirring until it completely melts.
Pour the chocolate into the moulds and smooth using either a palette knife or a cake smoother. Pop them into the fridge to set! It literally is as easy as that!
Valentine’s Day Cupcakes
To make the cupcakes first start by creaming together the butter and sugar. I used light brown sugar in this recipe as I find it adds a lovely caramelly taste to the cupcakes. If you can’t find light brown sugar or simply don’t like it then you can replace it with caster sugar and this recipe will still work perfectly.
Once you have creamed the butter and sugar together add in the remaining ingredients and mix until completely combined. In the cupcake I used Stork but you could use unsalted butter it is completely up to you. I just prefer Stork as I think it makes a lighter sponge.
I also added milk to the recipe. I normally find that when you add cocoa powder to a recipe it can make the cupcakes quite dry so I always add milk to stop this from happening.
Once you have mixed all the ingredients together divide them into 12 cupcake cases. I find the easiest way to do this is using an ice cream scoop. That way I know all the cupcakes have the same amount of batter in them.
How Long Do I Bake the Valentine’s Day Cupcakes For?
So, everyone’s oven is different I recommend baking for between 15-20 minutes. Some might bake a little quicker others might take slightly longer.
How Do I Know the Valentine’s Day Cupcakes are Baked?
So, telling when chocolate cupcakes are baked can be difficult. The best way to check is by using a cake tester to test the thickest part of the cake.
If the tester comes out clean the cupcakes are ready. If it comes out with batter on then pop them back into the oven for 3-4 minutes and check again. Repeat until the tester comes out clean.
Another way to test if the cupcakes are ready is by gently pressing on the top of the cupcakes. If it springs back when you remove your finger then it is ready. If you end up with a finger-sized dent in the top pop them back into the fridge for 3-4 minutes. Repeat until the cupcake springs back.
Cooling the Valentine’s Day Cupcakes
Okay, so because I bake my cupcakes in Baking Cups, I leave them to cool fully on the tray. However, if you are using a more traditional cupcake case and muffin tray, I would recommend leaving them to cool for 15-20 minutes in the tray and then moving them onto a wire rack to cool fully.
Chocolate Buttercream
This is the best chocolate buttercream ever and it is so simple to make.
To begin with beat the butter for 5-10 minutes until soft and supple. It will start to become very pale.
For the buttercream, you need to use unsalted butter. The kind you find in the supermarket wrapped in foil in a block. If you use a block spread like Stork, or any other baking spread it will just be too soft and you will end up with an overly sweet sloppy buttercream that won’t hold it’s own shape.
Once you have beaten the butter add the cocoa powder, icing sugar and vanilla and mix again until completely combined.
If the buttercream is too thick, add a tablespoon of milk one at a time, stirring in between each addition until it reaches the perfect consistency.
It can be a little difficult to tell what is the perfect consistency but you want it to be thick and creamy but also soft enough that you can pipe it and it will still hold its shape.
Add the buttercream to a piping bag, I use these ones with a 1M Piping Nozzle and leave them to one side.
Putting it All Together
Once your geometric hearts have set, carefully remove them from the silicone mould and onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
If your chocolate has a marbled effect on it when you take it out of the mould it just means that it has bloomed. It will still be perfectly okay to eat. The only problem was it was too hot, I would recommend microwaving for less time, or using a Bain Marie.
You can leave them as they are but I prefer to make mine a little more sparkly. I used Ruby and Gold Lustre Dust. All you need is a thick brush, I used this one, dip it into the lustre dust and dust onto the chocolate hearts.
Try not to touch them because you might leave a fingerprint and remember and get into all the corners.
You can use any colour lustre dust you fancy on these.
To finish them off, melt some white chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave on 20-second bursts until smooth and completely melted.
Pop it into a piping bag with either a small round nozzle or if you are using disposable piping bags snip the end off. Drizzle the chocolate over the top. I finished with these white sprinkles from The Shire Bakery.
Once your geometric hearts are finished, pipe the buttercream onto the top of the cupcakes and finish with the heart on top.
Alternatives
You could make these Vanilla Cupcakes just remove the cocoa powder and replace it with self-raising flour.
You could also make these red velvet cupcakes; you can find the recipe here.
To make cake or cookie geometric hearts you want to start by melting your chocolate as above. Now place a small amount of chocolate in the moulds until they are thinly coated with chocolate. Pop the in the fridge until set. Leave the chocolate to one side.
Add in your leftover cookie dough or cake batter (the best thing to do is to get your cake and pop it into a bowl. Add a tablespoon of buttercream at a time and mix together until the cake is completely coated) and re-melt your chocolate. Smooth the chocolate over the top of your cake mixture and again pop in the fridge to set. Remove from the fridge and decorate.
Equipment
Piping Tip
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Valentine’s Day Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 145 g Light Brown Sugar
- 145 g Unsalted Butter or Stork
- 120 g Self-Raising Flour
- 25 g Cocoa Powder
- 3 Large Eggs
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 30 ml Whole Milk
For the Geometric Hearts
- 400 g White Chocolate
For the Buttercream
- 250 g Unsalted Butter
- 475 g Icing Sugar
- 25 g Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3-4 tbsp Whole Milk
For Decoration
- 100 g White Chocolate
- Sprinkles
Instructions
To Make the Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160 Fan. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners and leave to one side.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add in the remaining ingredients and whisk until all combined.
- Spoon the mixture into the cupcake liners. I use a small ice cream scoop to do this so I know that they are all even.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. You will know the cupcakes are ready when they are golden brown and springy to touch.
To Make the Geometric Hearts
- Melt 300g of the white chocolate in a large heatproof bowl in the microwave. The best way to do this is in 20-second bursts stirring inbetween until completley melted.
- Remove from the micorwave and add in the remaining 100g of white chocolate. Leave this to sit for 2-3 minutes before stirring until the chocolate is completley melted.
- Pour the chocolate into the moulds and using a palette knife of cake smoother smooth the tops.
- Pop them into the fridge until they have set.
To Make the Buttercream
- In a bowl beat the butter for 5-10 minutes until soft and supple.
- Add in the icing sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla and mix until completley combined.
- If the buttercream is too thick add 1tbsp of milk and mix. Repeat until the buttercream is the desired consistency.
- Put the buttercream into a piping bag and leave to one side.
Putting it All Together
- Once the geometric hearts have set, remove from the mould and place on a lined baking tray.
- Gently dust them with the lustre dust.
- In a heatproof bowl melt the 100g of white chocolate in the microwave, in 20-second bursts stirring in between until completley melted.
- Add this to a piping bag with a small round nozzle or if you are using disposable piping bags snip the tip of the bag.
- Drizzle the chocolate over the top of the hearts and finish with some sprinkles.
- Pipe the buttercream onto the top of your cupcakes and gently lift the geometric hearts on top.
