Valentine's Day.. or not

They say Valentine's day is a day for lovers. Lies. This is a baker's holiday. When you're a baker, this day is AMAZING. In reality, it's no different than any other day, except that it gives you an excuse to bake profusely, eat excessively, and adorn your treats with obnoxious pink and red hearts -- something you can't get away with any other time of year.

I know this post is a bit late for Valentine's day, but I wanted to share my experience making Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream frosting with you because it's something you can make all year round, not just on Valentine's day. Nevertheless, since I was making these for a special someone on this special day, I added a few simple touches that gave it some Valentine's flair.

For the chocolate espresso cupcakes, I used Ina Garten's chocolate cake recipe as a base. I love this recipe and use it all the time, including in one of my previous posts. Except this time, in addition to the 1 cup of brewed hot coffee, I also added a table spoon of finely ground espresso. The addition of coffee really brings out the rich chocolate flavour and the coffee grounds give just a hint of dark mocha. 

To make the caramel buttercream, I first made caramel sauce (or you can just buy caramel sauce!):

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
4 tablespoons unsalted buter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon sea salt

Combine water and sugar in a sauce pan on medium-high heat. If you're wondering if one tablespoon water is enough, trust me, it is! Incorporate the water into the sugar but then leave alone and bring to boil - do not stir! Let the mixture turn a medium-dark brown colour before removing from heat. Then, add the butter, heavy cream, and salt and stir until all is well-incorporated. Let the mixture cool completely before using, or save it for later use.

To make the buttercream, use the cooled caramel sauce mixture and beat it with 1 1/2 sticks room-temperature butter in a standing mixture. Then, add four cups confectioners' sugar one cup at a time until all ingredients come together into a deliciously salted caramel frosting!

To make these cupcakes more Valentine's-y, I wanted to make rice krispy treats in the shape of a heart to put on top of the salted caramel buttercream. Surprisingly, the most difficult part of this whole endeavour was finding heart shaped cookie cutters to use for the treats! I went to multiple grocery stores and even a speciality cooking store to no avail. I finally found what I was looking for at the Dollar Store (the mecca of all things random). I also picked up some heart-shaped sprinkles to make the treats extra sweet :) (feel free to gag here...).

 Rice krispy treats are by far the easiest dessert and really yummy, too! No matter what age you are!

 The cookie cutter worked perfectly; and the best part is you get to eat the scraps while you make them. 

 Here's what they looked like all put together! 

My boyfriend was studying for most of the day on Valentine's day so I thought I'd take these cupcakes over to him in the mid-morning so he can have brain fuel while he studies. Look how happy he is!! Trust me, this type genuine smile doesn't come out very often for men on Valentine's day, where men are supposed to empty out their pockets on dinner, flowers, and candy to make their women happy. So seeing Matt smile like this, you know these cupcakes must have been good! :) 

To all you Valentine's day lovers... or not.. happy eating!! 

-Talia