Red Velvet Chocolate Drenched Heartcakes

I love making little holiday-themed treats, and Picky Palate has really been my go-to site for this. She's so creative yet her recipes are very easy and fast. I would never think of some of her concoctions, but I love them!


These little red velvet hearts completely fit in with what I was looking for - something easy, yummy, and a little different.

I had a little bit of drama with this recipe, however. I was in Target and stopped to pick up the cake mix and condensed milk. I was going to buy a little heart shaped mold (I had the package IN MY HAND!), but when I saw it, I remembered that I already had one. Score - I saved myself $10.

Then I was all set to make them but the hearts looked much smaller than in the store. Hmm. Sure enough, I realized that what I had was a silicone ice cube tray in heart shapes, and not an oven-save pan.

By now it was two days before Valentine's Day, and by then Target was, of course, sold out of the pans. A couple of different Targets later (made by my wonderful husband and son), however, I was the proud owner of silicone heart-shaped cupcake liners.


Ryan of course helped me make this little treat, and we brought most of them to my parents' house for a pre-Valentine's-Day dinner. I really liked the chocolate ganache, and I used some leftover funfetti sprinkles from our Valentine's Day cupcakes before the chocolate set.


The only thing I did differently was not adding in the extras to the batter that Jenny did - but that was purely because I didn't read the whole recipe. I saw "cake mix" and "eggs" and "oil" and I assumed she was listing the ingredients from the box. It wasn't until later that I realized that she enhanced the cake even more. I'd love to try her version next time - but for now, these straight-out-of-the-box hearts were pretty good!


Ingredients

• 1 box red velvet cake mix, plus the ingredients listed on the box
• 1 small can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand of an electric mixer prepare the cake mix as directed. With a cookie scoop or spoon, place cake batter into well greased little heart molds or paper lined cupcake tins, just over 1/2 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Remove and let cool. With the help of a plastic knife, carefully remove hearts from molds. If you are using regular cupcakes, remove wrappers. Place little cakes onto a cooling rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet.

2. To prepare chocolate sauce, pour sweetened condensed milk into a small saucepan over medium heat. When hot, pour in chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Pour chocolate sauce over cupcakes and use a little plastic knife to frost the sides of hearts. Let chocolate set slightly or eat immediately if you like it gooey!

about 24 heartcakes