Bleeding Heart Cupcakes

Funny thing about recipe development, sometimes it goes horribly wrong. For the sake of transparency, I have shared my past cooking disasters with you. I am giving you the stink-eye, Butter Macadamia Truffles! My journey with The Frosted Petticoat has been one of growth and learning. The website is a little microcosm of life, one would say. And like in real life, on my site I am honest to a fault. That is why I quit my day job as a trial attorney to pursue food. How does your client plead, guilty or not guilty? Me: Eeehhh? Not guilty? *shrugging shoulders*. Disaster. The kitchen is a place to have fun and experiment. A lot of the time, your creations are amazing. A lot of the time, they are not. It’s all part of what makes cooking so enjoyable. You learn and grow with every dish. And so with all that said, it’s time to share my most recent disaster. My Bleeding Heart Cupcakes.

My intention was to give you a fun, easy cupcake recipe to impress your Valentine this holiday season. The reality was a hot mess. Against my better judgement, I thought that placing marshmallow hearts inside cupcake batter would create a cute ‘hidden heart in the dessert’ scenario. Why in the world would I think this when I know full well that marshmallows expand when heated? There is no excuse. But if you want one: My 1-year-old thought it was a great idea; I was sold magic marshmallows from a traveling peddler; I had a temporary lobotomy in the “recipe development” sector of my brain; Trump… I just like to blame him for everything. Regardless of why I went ahead with this cockamamy scheme, I did it nonetheless. And the results were, well, explosive.

If you follow along on our social media pages, then you know that I live Instagrammed the whole mess in real time. I also asked you, my stunningly gorgeous readers, to give me suggestions for a new name for the recipe. The original name was “Hidden Heart Cupcakes”. Now that the sweets had exploded, I needed something a bit more appropriate. Well, what I got from you guys was absolute gold! Here are some of my favorites: Lava Love; Blood Bath; Heart Break (Out); Cupid’s Revenge. One particular cheeky Instagram follower even suggested the cupcakes eerily resembled an x-rated female body part. A realization which led to a bout of teenage-like blushing and giggling. But it was Niki from Boise, Idaho who’s name entry won out. Bleeding Heart Cupcakes. So without further ado…

Bleeding Heart Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

6 marshmallow hearts

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 cup of almond meal

1 cup of granulated sugar

1/3 cup of whole milk

14 ounces of cream cheese

1/2 cup of butter (softened)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of salt

2 eggs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a large muffin pan and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix thoroughly.
3. In a stand mixer, mix the sugar and butter until creamy. Then add the cream cheese, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly.
4. Pour the wet mixture into the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Combine using a spatula until fully mixed and has a thick dough consistency.
5. Fill each muffin slot 1/3rd full. Stick the heart marshmallows upright in the batter and then carefully fill the rest of the muffin slots with the batter. Cover completely with the batter until the marshmallow is hidden. 
6. Place in the oven and cook for approximately 45 minutes. Watch them explode. Remove from the oven, let cool, and enjoy!

Well, I guess in the end they weren’t a total fail. They sort of resemble hearts. The best part, they taste absolutely fantastic. So, your Valentine won’t think you a total loser. Happy Valentine’s Day!