Show your love with these adorable and delicious Valentine's Day cupcakes. Reminiscent of cinnamon hearts, they're a scrumptious combination of rich dark chocolate with the spicy allure of cinnamon, then topped off with a pink cinnamon icing. If Valentine's Day was a flavor, this is what it would taste like!
Ingredients
1cupall-purpose flour
1cupgranulated sugar
1teaspoonbaking powder
½ teaspoonbaking soda
¼ teaspoonsalt
3tablespoonsunsweetened cocoa powder
3tablespoonsblack cocoa powder, see notes
½ cupmilk
¼ cupcooking oil
½ teaspooncinnamon oil
2largeeggs
¼ cuphot water
Cinnamon Icing
½ cupcinnamon hearts, plus a few extra for decorating
1cupsalted butter, at room temperature
3cupspowdered sugar
2tablespoonswhipping cream
½ teaspooncinnamon oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with paper liners - or use a heart-shaped cupcake mold. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and both of the cocoa powders.
1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 3 tablespoons black cocoa powder
Add the milk, oil, cinnamon oil, and eggs and beat using electric beaters. Add the hot water and beat just until combined.
½ cup milk, ¼ cup cooking oil, ½ teaspoon cinnamon oil, 2 large eggs, ¼ cup hot water
Divide the batter between the cupcake liners, filling each one ¾ of the way full. Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cinnamon Icing
Add the cinnamon hearts to your food processor and pulse until they become a power.
Add the butter to a large bowl and use electric beaters to cream the butter for 2 minutes. Add the ground cinnamon hearts, powdered sugar, whipping cream, and cinnamon oil and beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium and continue to beat for 2 minutes more. Adjust the consistency to your liking by adding more cream or more powdered sugar.
½ cup cinnamon hearts, 1 cup salted butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon oil, 2 tablespoons whipping cream
Transfer the icing to a pastry bag and pipe the icing onto the cupcakes. Top each one with a cinnamon heart - or a few cinnamon hearts, if you'd like!
Notes
Black cocoa powder is a super rich alkalized cocoa powder that is used to boost color, think Oreos. You can easily substitute regular cocoa powder for the same taste, but the cupcakes will not be as dark. And don't add more black cocoa powder than the recipe calls for!