I think the name says it all with these delicious bittersweet chocolate valentine cupcakes with buttercream frosting. This recipe was adapted from the original Hershey’s chocolate cake recipe and it is so simple to make and so delicious that it makes the perfect valentine gift for your special someone. I love using bittersweet chocolate in baking since it adds a depth of flavor that I think is so delicious. The combination of the bitter chocolate and sweet buttercream make this a perfectly balanced cupcake (not like those overly sickly sweet desserts).
These cupcakes are so easy to make too! My tween daughter made these last year for the family on Valentines day which is a win win for me (I was off the hook for making the sweet treats for a change) and they were a hit with everyone. For decorating, you don’t need to stress out about making them perfect. Imperfect frosting work with a nice decoration actually looks great! One of my tricks to making cupcakes look nice since I’m terrible at decorating and piping work is to make sure the frosting does NOT come to the edge of the cupcake. Let the cupcake show a bit like in the picture below. It just makes the cupcakes look nice.
For the Buttercream Frosting there are a million to choose from and my favorites all involve room temperature butter and powdered sugar. I think these taste better and they are not difficult to make. We chose to use this Butter Cream Frosting for these cupcakes and it was delicious. I added a few tablespoons of sour cream to give it a little tangy flavor which just made it even better!
I hope you give them a try! They are great anytime of year and so easy to make.
Will You Be My Bittersweet Valentine Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 cup sugar
- 1 3/4 cup of flour
- 3/4 cup bittersweet cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 1 cup of boiling water
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 F.
- Line a muffin tin with liners.
- Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.
- Then mix the eggs, oil and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well combined.
- Stir espresso powder (this is optional but tasty) into the cup of boiling water and add to the batter.
- Stir until it is incorporated. Your batter will be VERY thin and this is ok!
- Pour (or ladle) the batter 3/4 the way up into your muffing tins.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- When done place on a cooling rack until cool and then you can start to add the buttercream frosting (see below).
