Treat your loved ones and yourself this Valentines Day to these rich, chocolate brownie cakes. Decorated with a chocolate love heart and easy to make marshmallow fluff frosting.
Being Valentines day today, I felt the need for something totally indulgent. I love brownies, so making them into cute little cakes topped with marshmallow fluff frosting seemed about right for today!
When these came out of the oven, they nearly disappeared before I had the chance to decorate them. Usually, I would be saying that disappearing food was a result of two curious, food loving little boys, whose little pleas for “samples” I cannot resist. But these particular disappearing cupcakes were all down to me! The boys were out!
Luckily, this recipe makes 15 and I would probably have fallen into a chocolate coma, before having the chance to polish them all off.
Of course, having 15 little treats in front of me didn’t stop me from trying though! I am a sucker for warm treats straight from the oven. With a frequently burnt tongue, you’d think I would learn! But no… The temptation is far too strong! Especially when there is warm chocolate involved!
Of course, it doesn’t have to be Valentines day before you make these little cakes, you can enjoy them any time of the year. They’re much quicker to bake than a tray baked brownie too, so you can enjoy a chocolate cake treat straight from the oven in less than 20 minutes. If you don’t want to wait for them to cool and decorate of course! They’re pretty good warm and all on their own.
Decorating Valentines Brownie Cakes
Granted that these chocolate chunk cupcakes would be great all by themselves, but to me, cupcakes tend to look a little sad and incomplete without a topping.
This marshmallow buttercream topping is just right for these chocolatey little Valentines day cakes.
Decorating cupcakes is so therapeutic and since I had the house all to myself for a couple of hours, I figured this would be the best way to spend it. Of course, I could have been doing something a little more productive, like housework or paying bills. But, let’s be honest, what would you rather be doing given the choice?!
Cupcake decorating is it! Every time!
There really isn’t much involved when making the marshmallow buttercream either and it really is good! Firstly, you want to cream together the sugar, butter and cream, but do this slowly at first. Icing sugar has a habit of getting everywhere and creating a big icing sugar cloud if you start your mixer too fast! Once it is smooth and starts to turn white, add in your marshmallow fluff and mix it altogether. That’s it, super easy!
How to Make Pink Chocolate Love Hearts
I loved making the little love heart decorations to go on the top of these mini brownie cakes. You don’t have to be the best artist either. I enjoyed simply doing it freehand, drawing out the little hearts on to the baking paper before turning it over and gently piping on my melted chocolate. However, if you are a baking perfectionist and want to have uniform little hearts, you could always print out the heart shapes, place them under the baking paper and follow that pattern instead.
I recommend to use a concentrated food colouring for the best, most vibrant colour when colouring your melted white chocolate. You can also experiment with different colours too, if you like. Your cupcake decorations can be any colour theme you prefer.
Alternatives to Making Brownie Cupcakes
You can use this recipe to make larger brownie cakes if you wanted to, or a chocolate brownie traybake too. The brownie ingredients will need to be baked for a little longer this way. However, chocolate brownies are made to be a little soft and melty in the middle so don’t overdo it. The key is to watch for the crust forming on top of the brownie cake and give the pan a little wiggle, you want a little movement but not too jiggly like a jelly.
These love heart cupcakes are filled with chocolate chunks too. If you want to make them into a triple chocolate cupcake version, try adding some white chocolate chunks into the mix.
Recipe FAQ
I recommend to store them in an airtight container without the frosting on top. They will keep for 3 days like this and the frosting can be refrigerated too. Decorate them on the day you want to eat them. You can also store undecorated cupcakes in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Yes, the marshmallow frosting can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Chocolate Brownie Valentines Cupcakes With Marshmallow Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 140 g Plain Flour
- 1 tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 85 g Unsalted Butter
- 180 g Dark Chocolate
- 200 g Dark Brown Soft Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 50 g Milk Chocolate
For the Marshmallow Frosting
- 100 g Unsalted Butter
- 250 g Icing Sugar
- 2 tbsp Double Cream
- 213 g Jar of Marshmallow Fluff
For the Decoration
- 70 g White Chocolate
- Concentrated Red Food Colouring
- Small Candy Hearts
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 170C (150C fan assisted)
- Melt the butter and plain chocolate over a gentle heat and leave to one side to cool a little.
- Whisk the eggs with the sugar until thick and creamy.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder and add to the eggs. Mix until smooth.
- Add the melted chocolate and stir in until combined.
- Chop the milk chocolate into small chunks and add to the mixture, stir in gentle to disperse throughout.
- Spoon mixture into cupcake cases, filling about 3/4 to the top.
- Place into the oven for approximately 20 minutes until the cakes develop a smooth hard top.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Frosting
- Mix the butter, cream and icing sugar until smooth.
- Add the marshmallow fluff and beat again until smooth, creamy and white.
- Place into a piping bag and pipe onto the cupcakes.
Decoration
- Melt the white chocolate and add the food colouring until you reach your desired colour.
- Draw heart shapes on the back of a piece of baking paper and turn over.
- Place the chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle and follow the heart patterns with the chocolate. Try to keep them thick enough so they don't fall apart too easily.
- Allow to set somewhere cool. (You can place them in the freezer for a few minutes to help them along.
- Place a heart shape onto each frosted cupcake.
Nutrition Estimate
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