Valentine's day Cupcake

I was excited to try my hand at some festive cupcake for Valentine's day. I decided to use a recipe from Martha Stewart Living, Raspberry Cupcakes with Pink Buttercream and Lacy Chocolate Hearts.

The cupcake themselves were similar to the ones I has made before. I used flour and cake flour which made the cupcakes heavier and more muffin like. I also used purred raspberries and coarsely chopped raspberries. My usual cupcake recipes make 12 cupcakes. I notice there was more batter then usual and was really surprised when it made 30 cupcakes. I guess I should not be surprised, it is Martha.

I topped the cupcakes with a store bought buttercream, Duncan Hines :) Buttercream has proven to be very very difficult to make so for the sake of time and my sanity I went with the store option. I dyed the icing with red food coloring to make it a festive pink.

The trickiest part of these cupcakes was the lacy chocolate heart. First i melted some dark chocolate in a double boiler then filled it in a zip-lock bag and cut a tiny hold in one end. I traced hearts onto wax paper and then piped the chocolate around the outline. I then tried to fill in the heart with squiggles. The key word is tried. The "hearts" looked a little blobby and not quiet as perfect and the lacy version Martha created.