Surprise Heart Filled Cupcakes

Well it finally snowed. We got a little over 4 inches last week, which for Alexandria is a lot. Little Bug was out of school for almost a week, so of course we baked and created lots of fun art projects for Valentine’s Day.

I have admired this type of cupcakes for awhile – the ones that you bake something in the middle of. I’ve seen everything from these typography cake to colorful polka dot cake.

With heart day on the horizon, I decided to make a set of surprise heart filled cupcakes. Although they turned out pretty well, it’s difficult to see the heart unless you slice it open. For serving, it might be fun to slice the cupcakes in half and serve in pieces on a tray. Or you could try making mini loaves and serve heart filled slices to your guests. Either way, I’m sure everyone will be excited with this heart filled treat.

You Will Need:

Box of white cake mix
Red food coloring or gel (affiliate)
Small heart cookie cutter (affiliate)
Muffin pan
Round cake pan
Cupcake liners
White or pink frosting
Heart sprinkles (affiliate) or red sanding sugars

1. Make the white cake mix. Split the mix in half.

Dye one half of the mix with red food gel. Add as much coloring or gel necessary to me a deep red. If using food coloring, it might take an entire bottle. With food gel, we used about 1/4 teaspoon to get a deep red.

2. Pour the red cake batter into the round cake pan. Bake according to box instructions.

3. Once the red cake has cooled, cut out small hearts with the cookie cutter.

4. Place a cupcake liner in the muffin pan. Add a heart cut out to the bottom of each liner.

Pour in the rest of the batter to cover each heart.  We filled each cupcake liner about three quarters of the way.

5. Bake again following the box instructions. Once completely cooled, frost the cupcakes with pink or white icing. Add a heart sprinkle or sanding sugars for decoration.

Little Bug loved biting into these heart filled cupcakes.  She was quite surprised to find a heart inside.

These heart filled cupcakes are the perfect addition to any upcoming Valentine’s Day party or play date.  You can even bring them in for a classroom Valentine’s Day treat.  Just don’t tell the kids there is a heart inside.  I can only imagine how surprised they will be.

Want to save this recipe for later?  Be sure to pin below.

Happy Celebrating,
Natalie