Description
These moist chocolate cupcakes are filled with heart-shaped pink buttercream. They’re super easy to make and so cute.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
CUPCAKES
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cocoa (I used Hershey’s special dark)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup full-fat buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons brewed coffee
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 extra-large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
PINK BUTTERCREAM
- 2 sticks unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons half & half, more if needed
- A tiny bit of pink food coloring, I used Wilton “Rose”
- Powdered sugar for dusting tops, optional
Instructions
CUPCAKES
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with 24 paper liners and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt and set aside.
- In a second medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream and coffee and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, (or use a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugars on high speed until the mixture is very light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
- On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and dry ingredients alternately in thirds to the mixing bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the dry ingredients. When adding the flour, mix only until it’s incorporated. Do not over mix. Run a rubber spatula under the paddle to make sure all flour is incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, using one mounded ice cream scoop per liner. Bake on a middle oven rack for approximately 20-25 minutes, when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and allow to completely cool before filling with frosting.
PINK BUTTERCREAM
- Add the butter to a large bowl. Using a mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until it’s light and creamy. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until combined. Add the half & half and mix well, adding a tiny bit more half & half if necessary for perfect piping consistency.
- Using a small heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut the top center out of each cupcake. See notes below.
- Attach a round piping tip to a piping bag. Fill the bag 2/3 full.
- Pipe the frosting into the cutout on each cupcake. You can round it up a little if you desire, but not too much. You want to maintain the heart-shaped appearance.
- Dust the tops with powdered sugar if you prefer.
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container. The cupcakes should stay fresh for up to 5 days.
Notes
- I used a 1-inch deep cutter, to ensure I could fit plenty of filling in each cupcake. However, if you don’t have a deep cookie cutter, you can use whatever you have on hand. You can pipe the filling a little bit higher than the opening on top of the cupcake, and it will still look like a heart.