Valentine's Day Cupcake

Cake

I cheated and used a box of red velvet mix. Follow the directions and they'll turn out just fine.

For mini cupcakes, bake for 12-14 minutes. To test if they are done, lightly tap on the top of the cake with your finger tip while they are still in the oven to see if the cake "springs back". If it does, they're done. The top of the cupcake should feel dry to the touch. Cool as instructed.

Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is a classic to go with red velvet cake.

3 tbs cream cheese

1/4 cup margarine or butter (1/2 stick)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 cups powdered sugar
Food coloring

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Add powdered sugar gradually. Add food coloring several drops at a time until desired color is achieved.

Note: for these cupcakes I multiplied the frosting recipe by 1.5

(4.5 tbs cream cheese, 3/4 stick margarine, 1.5 tsp vanilla and 4-5 cups powdered sugar)

Decorating

These are mini cupcakes, and even though you can't tell, the wrappers are white with tiny red and pink hearts along the sides of the wrapper.

Frosting Design: I always use Wilton decorating tools - bags, tips, etc. For this cupcake I used the Wilton Round Tip #12, swirled the cream cheese frosting around the cupcake starting with the outer edge and then topped with a large heart sprinkle.