Strawberries. Chocolate. Cupcakes.
Whatever you think of this day, we just love making sweet things for sweet people. These are simple things we did this Valentine's Day that can easily be made throughout the year...after all....we do not need just one day to let people know they are special!
We made sugar cookies and used some to make this heart-shaped pattern on our cupcakes with powdered sugar.
Chocolate-covered Strawberries....and other chocolate covered things. You can easily dress up favorite foods with chocolate...for a special occasion. Indulge a little. We played with some of our classic designs and tried some new!
Red Velvet Cupcakes- mom's old-fashion recipe! A lot of experimenting was going on in the test kitchen since we were trying to use what we had already in the pantry ...and see if this is something you whip together last minute. We ran out of vanilla extract and red dye during prep ( probably should have checked the pantry first)...so improvised with the half vanilla extract and a sprinkle of espresso powder ( we used fine Illy Espresso Powder but instant will work as well) which brought out a deeper cocoa flavor. We only had half the red dye needed...so we just used what we had. They came out more chocolaty looking, but the crumbs had a red tint to them! We also tested a gluten-free version using 1/2 Oat Flour and 1/2 Almond Flour - so they were high in fiber and a couple other essentials:). The cream cheese frosting is made with Neufchatel cheese ( a lighter and softer 'cream' cheese - read the difference here and you'll see why it's kinda cute for Valentine's Day...at least at its origin!) and half a Vanilla Bean. The fun part was decorating them...we made a quite a few different kinds.
So dreamy....this cupcake dreamed of sprinkles and they fell from the sky.
Extra cupcakes? We made kind of a trifle with a can of coconut cream, vanilla bean, raspberries and crumbled red velvet cupcake. Not into coconut cream flavor? Make it a chocolate mousse by adding melted chocolate morsels. Not into coconut? Use advocado and banana and chocolate. Don't have a dairy problem? Go all out cream! Also added some liquor to the cupcakes. Vegan? Forgo the cupcake. Total improv. Wanted to put these in cute shooters, but they were stored away, so this wine cup worked for now!
And then we played with more chocolate! These are pretty pure...nothing added...so they were rich on their own, but we just added nuts like pistachio and almonds we had. We made one with rose and honey pistachio filling that was quite tasty.
And then you could package them and add little details like this:
And for those who do not like lovey-dovey things, Valentine's, and all things of the sort...we got a cup cake for you!
Well, those were some quick tricks for sweet treats that can meet a variety of dietary needs using what we had- but there are plenty more!
Hope you enjoy!
XOXO,
Salt and Cinnamon
