The Perfect Valentine's Cupcakes

Happy Valentine's Day!

​I couldn’t help myself! I began dreaming up these cupcakes in the shower this morning and I couldn’t resist making them! Am super pleased with how they turned out and was a lovely way to spend my own Valentine’s Day. Check out the full recipe below to make them yourselves and keep the Valentine’s Day Spirit alive! 

These cupcakes are so much more simple than they might seem. They're the perfect way to achieve the WOW factor without an endless amount of effort. Did we mention they're gluten and dairy free too?

Ps. jamming out to Arianna Grande is totally necessary during the entire baking process. Do it. You won’t regret it.

I’ve broken these beautiful cupcakes down into 3 components: the cupcake itself, the vegan marshmallow topping, and finally the decorations!

First up, the cupcake. This is the ULTIMATE chocolate cupcake recipe and honestly blows my mind every single time. It’s perfectly moist, comes away from the liners seamlessly and is super light to eat. Unfortunately, I cannot take any credit at all for this recipe! I found it years ago on the Chelsea Website and even by just reading the endless 5-star reviews you know that this recipe is thoroughly tried and true.

View the original recipe here.

For these cupcakes,

Makes 12 small-medium sized cupcakes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20-22 minutes

You’ll Need:

• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp GF plain flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup soft brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of almond milk (we love the vanilla almond)
• 1/4 cup of oil*
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup boiling water

*​(we’ve used grape-seed as it’s arguably the healthiest, however, I’ve previously used olive oil or canola as a last resort)

Preheat the oven to 180°C conventional or 160ºC fan-forced. Line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, then add the sugars and stir in. Add the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla then beat with a mixer until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl then add the boiling water and mix until just combined (the batter will be runny). Pour the batter into a measuring cup (it’s easier and cleaner than using a spoon) and pour evenly into each paper case until ¾ filled (don’t overfill or the mixture will overflow). Place in the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.

For the topping,

This is the perfect vegan, dairy-free frosting which perfectly accompanies these cupcakes by maintaining the light and airy texture. I call this my ‘vegan marshmallow’. But for this recipe, I added a secret ingredient: cinnamon! Remember, only make this topping right before serving as it doesn’t store well and is difficult to bring back after it settles. However, it does last long enough once made to make it through the decoration process or sitting out on the table prior to dessert.

You’ll Need:

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and the liquid (aquafaba) reserved
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 drop of red food gel
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Clean the electric mixer down and swap the mixing head to the beater. Separate the liquid from the chickpea can, we love keeping our chickpeas to use them to make hummus! Add this liquid to the mixing bowl and add the icing sugar. Set the mixer on high and leave for approx. 10 minute until light, airy and fluffy. Once slightly stiff, add the vanilla extract and the red food gel until your desired taste and colour is achieved. Continue to beat until the frosting is beginning to gain a thicker texture. Finally, add the cinnamon and stir through until fully combined. Once the cupcakes were removed from the oven and had cooled thoroughly, I added a dessert spoon of the topping to each cupcake.

To decorate,
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I loved the idea of having little love notes on top of my cupcakes, and definitely wanted some dried rose petals in their too. I found these little mini envelopes and the flower stickers (which actually came in a pack of 3 sticker sheets) at The Warehouse and simply stuck them onto toothpicks with a little tape on the back to secure them. For the envelopes, I added a written message with some of the other stickers which came in a wedding-themed pack with the flowers. However, handwriting a little note would be even more lovely! I added one of the ‘toothpick’ decorations to each of the cupcakes and ensured that I secured them into the cupcake itself rather than just the frosting on top. Finally, I dusted the cupcakes with cinnamon, and Fresh As Freeze-Dried Raspberry Powder. The dried rose petals are totally an optional extra but I loved the texture they added and I had some handy!

Hope you have all had a lovely Valentine’s Day no matter who or how you celebrated.

Be sure to share your cupcake creations with us by using the hashtag #livelivelynz

Ps. Check out our social media accounts! We're all over instagram, facebook and pinterest! 

Have a lovely rest of the week from the team at Live Lively!

From our hearts to yours,