Lets face it, sometimes we don't have time to bake totally from scratch. We juggle jobs and friends and obligations, but we still want to indulge our sweet tooth, and we want to get festive for the holidays! Valentine's day is filled with, well, LOVE, and whether or not you have a spouse or a boyfriend, there are plenty of people you love and want to show them, but ain't nobody got time for that- in comes doctored boxed cake, with a twist!
I know we have all see the cupcakes with cute little shapes BAKED INSIDE, but have you tried it yet? You don't have to be a pro. Its super easy and you can do it with box mixes! So lets get crazy, and bake some pink vanilla hearts inside FUNFETTI. You can use a box mix, or use this recipe if you have the time.
Yield the amount on your box mix, and you'll probably have some extra hearts to snack on, YUM.
FOR THE PINK HEARTS /
1 pkg. Vanilla Cake Mix
water, eggs and oil as called for on the box (can replace oil with melted butter, the same amount as the box calls for)
1 tsp. red food coloring (or enough for however deep you want the color)
Small heart cookie cutter
1 / Preheat oven to temperature instructed by the box. Grease a shallow cake pan well. Set aside.
2 / Mix together the ingredients as the box instructs.
3 / Add food coloring to the batter mixture and beat until well combined.
5 / Pour the batter into the prepared shallow cake pan and bake according to box instructions. Do not over bake.
6 / In pan, cool baked cake until completely cool. To speed up the cooling process, you can place the cake in the freezer or refrigerator.
7 / Pop the cooled cake out of the pan and transfer onto a flat surface. Using your heart cookie cutter, cut out hearts and place onto a flat plate or surface.
8 / Freeze heart cutouts for 3 hours or overnight.
(It gets a little messy, but there are lots of scraps to snack on!)
FOR THE FUNFETTI BATTER /
1 pkg. Funfetti Cake Mix
water, eggs and oil as called for on the box (can replace oil with melted butter, the same amount as the box calls for)
1 pkg. vanilla pudding mix
1 / Preheat oven to temperature instructed by the box. Line a standard cupcake pan with liners, set aside.
2 / Mix together the ingredients as the box instructs.
3 / Pour dry pudding mix into the batter mix and beat until well combined.
4 / Spoon about 1 tbsp. of the batter into the cupcake liners.
5 / Stand the frozen hearts upright in the batter. (Stand them like little soldiers all in the same direction and remember which way they are facing, it’s important to remember which way the hearts face for when you are done!)
6 / Spoon the rest of the batter around the heart and cover the heart.
7 / Bake for the recommended amount of time, inserting a toothpick or cake tester diagonally to test the funfetti batter, not the heart (they are already cooked silly!).
When you pull the cupcakes out, remember which way the hearts face! Use your favorite vanilla icing and top with a cute little heart candy in the same direction of the heart! When you cut the cupcake down the center in the correct direction (see I told you it was important to remember which way you put the hearts in!), VOILA, you will see a heart inside!
This idea works for any shape you want. Stars? Circles? Whatevs! People also do it for a surprise baby (boy or girl, blue or pink, get it?!).
How are you showing the ones you love you care this Valentine's Day?