Brownie Heart Cupcakes

I’ll admit it, I love Valentine’s Day: it’s just another excuse for me to bake. I saw this Brownie Heart Cupcake recipe from Martha Stewart and it’s been on my long list of things to try. I think this is one of my top 3 favorite cupcake recipes I’ve ever made. Not only are they adorable, but they are surprisingly very easy and delicious! Gooey chocolate cake with a crispy brownie surface and topped off with sweet buttercream frosting. You owe it to yourself to try these!

Recipe:           

• Vegetable oil, cooking spray
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 12 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• Basic Buttercream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Coat an 8-inch square cake pan with cooking spray, line bottom with parchment, then spray parchment.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring until chocolate melts.

Attach bowl to mixer, add sugar, and whisk on medium-high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture.

Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Spread remaining batter in square pan. Bake until set but still soft, about 18 minutes. Let cool in tins and pan on wire racks.

Frost cupcakes with buttercream. Cut out 24 hearts from brownie in pan using a 1 1/2-inch heart-shaped cutter. Top each cupcake with a brownie heart.