Chocolate Valentine Cakes

What does everyone like to do for Valentine's Day? I prefer birthdays and anniversaries to be the big present giving days, so for us, Valentine's Day isn't anything too fancy. It usually involves roses, chocolates, candy and cards; I like it to be traditional. Sometimes we go out for a beautiful meal and sometimes we like to stay in and cook something special.

I love making a cake for Valentine's Day; its pretty much the only time of the year when everything can be red, pink and heart-shaped with a huge dose of lovey-doveyness. Last year's rose petal cake was so delicious and romantic that I actually thought about making it again this year. In the end though, I decided to not even make one big cake, but rather little cakes with lots of chocolate and some cute decorating.

These little love cakes are made using heart shaped silicone cupcake liners. The Martha Stewart one-bowl chocolate cupcakes recipe that I used for them is absolutely gorgeous and are probably the best chocolate cupcakes I've ever tasted! I poured silky chocolate ganache over the cakes for a decadent finish. The red cakes are made with white chocolate and red food coloring and the dark cakes are made with rich dark chocolate.

Heart shaped chocolate cupcakes: Adapted from Martha Stewart's one-bowl chocolate cupcakes
(makes 18-24)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour1 1/2 cups sugar1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda3/4 teaspoon baking powder3/4 teaspoon salt2 large eggs3/4 cup warm water3/4 cup buttermilk3 tablespoons safflower oil (I used pure coconut oil)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extractGanache icing:
200g good dark chocolate or white chocolate
1 cup of heavy cream1 tablespoon butter