to Bake or Not to Bake: fun valentine's day cupcakes.

On Saturday I was really bored and I went looking around the house for something to do and what did I find? Everything I needed to make cupcakes! So of course I had to make them. Here is everything I needed, plus a couple extras.

I followed the ingredients listed on the back of the box and I also added 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and 2 tbsp. of coffee -- you can use 2 tbsp. of instant coffee if you don't have any brewed already -- because they both enhance the chocolate flavor of the cake. And who doesn't want a more chocolate-y flavor!? I first mixed the water and oil with the mix and then added one egg at a time. Then I added both the vanilla and coffee. After those were fully combined I put the mixer on high speed and mixed it for an extra 30 seconds or so. I like to do this when I make cake because I find that it makes the finished cake lighter, fluffier, and more moist.

I lined two, regular sized, cupcake trays with foil liners and filled them up 2/3 of the way full with batter. One of my cupcake trays was a silicone one and it produced a flatter cupcake but they were more moist than the ones baked in the aluminum tray. I let them sit in the trays for about 5 minutes and then I removed them and let them cool on the countertop. I was so anxious to start icing them that I actually put them in the fridge so they would cool quicker!

Since Valentine's Day is coming up, I thought it would be cute to decorate them accordingly. I found cute heart sprinkles and I used hot pink and red food colorings. (I used Wilton)

It took me awhile to decorate these because I tried to do something different on each cupcake. But it was worth it because they turned out really adorable and delicious! You don't have to go all out like I did. The thing to remember is just to have fun and make your cupcakes with love! These would be great to make with your kids or with a big group of friends.