Desserts

Love Letter Cupcakes

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Love letter cupcakes
Send a message to your Valentine in the sweetest way possible with these Devil’s Food, cream-filled cupcakes, dipped in chocolate ganache with white chocolate writing.

Making cupcakes from scratch is a bit of a process, but the ganache and cream filling are super simple if you have the right technique. Writing on the cupcakes with white chocolate may take a little practice if you aren’t familiar with using a piping bag, but having the right-sized tip (the smallest, either size 1 or 2) makes the process so much easier!  You can do a “semi-homemade” version by using a box cake for the cupcakes, and just focus your energy on decorating them!

ding dong cupcakes

As for decorating them, the possibilities are endless! I made three different-sized cupcakes. For the smallest ones, I covered them with X’s and O’s and made “Lover’s Tic-Tac-Toe.”  For the largest ones, I was able to write longer phrases, and for the standard-sized cupcakes, I kept it to short, easy-to-write words like “forever” and “heart.”

069e9115-f021-4e85-845a-5c2d99620a22 ready to go in the overn

 

Allow to cool Making the ganache.: Allow the warm liquid to sit undisturbed until the chocolate starts to melt. Stir starting in the middle Continue stirring until the ganache is completely combined. Then, dip the cupcakes in the ganache and allow to set for 30 minutes before decorating them.
Love Letter Cupcakes
Author: Vallery
Serves: 24-30 cupcakes
Ingredients
  • For the DEVIL’S FOOD CUPCAKES
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup hot water
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
  • FOR THE GANACHE
  • 1 pound good-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2 1/3 cups heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup corn syrup
  • FOR THE CREAM FILLING
  • 1 1/2 cups marshmallow cream
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • FOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE WRITING
  • 6 ounces white chocolate
Instructions
  1. FOR THE CUPCAKES
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
  4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three- quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.
  5. TO MAKE THE GANACHE
  6. Place chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer over medium-high heat; pour mixture over chocolate. Let stand, without stirring, until chocolate begins to melt.
  7. Beginning near the center and working outward, stir melted chocolate into cream until mixture is combined and smooth (do not overstir).
  8. Use immediately (ganache will continue to thicken after you stop stirring).
  9. TO MAKE THE CREAM FILLING
  10. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat on medium-high until completely combined. Then, transfer to the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Place in a piping bag with a 10 pt. tip. Turn the cooled cupcakes over, and pipe the filling into the bottom of the cupcake (you can remove part of the bottom of the cupcake so that you can get more filling in). IF USING THE GANACHE, DO THIS STEP FIRST.
  11. TO WRITE WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE
  12. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler, being careful not to burn it. Immediately transfer to a piping bag with a 1 or 2-pt tip. Carefully write on the cupcakes. Allow to set for 15 minutes.
  13. Store the cupcakes in an air tight container for up to 3 days

 

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comments

  • Paz SAYS | February 25, 2016

    love your cupcakes. i’ve added it to my lists of deliciousness to make. Thank you! 🙂

  • Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes SAYS | April 7, 2016

    […] actually still have leftover ganache from the Valentine’s Day devil’s food cupcakes I made, so I heated it up until it was melted and drizzled it over the pancakes and topped it with […]

about vallery

I am a lawyer-turned-baker. 
I left my 9-5 office job because I wanted to create recipes, videos, and most of all—Bake! I won the Great American Baking Show, and my debut cookbook Life Is What You Bake It contains some of the winning recipes! My motto is simple: When life gives you lemons, make lemon curd. We have the power to turn tart situations into sweet ones, and it’s my mission to teach people how.

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