Happy Valentine's Day!!! (Nutella Brownies and Red Velvet Cupcake Recipes)

I couldn't have had a better surprise this morning than to wake up to a snowstorm and closed schools! I was really happy to have the kids at home, I made an army of tiny Red Velvet Cupcakes, found an Origami Heart pattern on the net then invited a few friends over for sweets and crafts!


It was my first time making Red Velvet anything and I thought Valentine's Day was the ideal day to try these cupcakes. I was pleasantly surprised by their texture, they were soft and fluffy with just a hint of cocoa and the color, wow, very impressive. The cream cheese icing, well, it's just over the top sweet and creamy but I wouldn't have it any other way!



And with all this talk about Nutella lately, combined with a serious craving for brownies, well it was just a matter of time before I gave in and made Nutella Brownies. Armed with a recipe by one of my faves, Ricardo, of course, I knew I couldn't fail! The brownies were just delightful, the hazelnut taste of the Nutella really came through and the texture, oh boy, just dreamy! Perfect for a Valentine's Day weekend!


I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!!!

For the Red Velvet Cupcake recipe please visit Brown Eyed Baker. I made the recipe pretty much as is except for using gel food coloring (about 1 tbsp) instead of liquid and baking the cupcakes in mini muffin pans for about 12 minutes.

For the Nutella Brownies recipe please visit Ricardo's website.

Heart-Shaped Chocolate Craving

Last year for Valentine’s Day, I made a heart-shaped chocolate cake. This year, I wanted to make something different but as we were talking about Valentine’s Day with the kids, my 4 year old son looked at me and said: “Mommy, you HAVE to make a heart-shaped cake for Valentine’s Day!”. Well, now I just HAD to, didn’t I? The tiny little man in my life gets what he wants on Valentine’s Day, though I must tell you, the little lady and the “taller” man in my life didn’t mind either.

Chocolate makes everyone in this family happy! And after all, isn’t that what this day is all about, making the ones we love happy? Plus, this chocolate cake makes ME happy, heart-shaped or not! It’s incredibly easy, I always have the ingredients on hand and the fact that it’s a one-bowl recipe means less dishes for me!

And even though it is the easiest chocolate cake I’ve ever made, it’s anything but plain, especially with a decadent chocolate icing! Even if you don’t make this cake for Valentine’s Day, keep the recipe in your files, it’s a great one to have on those days when you can’t say no to a chocolate craving. It’s not too late yet, go, make cake!

One Bowl Chocolate Cake
Allrecipes
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two nine inch round pans (or 2 heart-shaped pans).

In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

“Fluffy” Chocolate Icing
To make the icing “fluffy”, I put all the ingredients in my stand mixer, set it at high speed, started doing other things and forgot about the icing. When I checked on it, it was so fluffy and full of bubbles I thought I’d ruined it! It doesn’t make for a neat icing job but man is it ever good! If you want it thicker and less fluffy, add less milk and check the mixer once in a while!

4 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 to 6 tbsp milk, depending on the consistency you want
5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Add a small amount of milk to reach desired spreading consistency. Add cocoa powder and beat well. Spread on cooled cake.