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Three different Valentine's Day Cupcakes that are easy to make and so cute!

3 Cute & Easy Valentine’s Day Cupcakes Recipe

Three different Valentine’s Day Cupcakes that are easy to make and so cute!

Three different Valentine's Day Cupcakes that are easy to make and so cute!

I’ve really been enjoying making cupcakes lately. Specifically, quick and easy cupcakes. I just really love the idea of having seasonal cupcake ideas in my back pocket, because they’re always such a hit at parties and gatherings– but they don’t take a lot of time, effort, or even skill.

You can make all of these cupcakes with store bought frosting and cake mix– or you can make it all from scratch! Your call. I had these cupcakes decorated in about 10 minutes flat with pretty minimal cleanup afterwards.

And they were a total hit with my kids. Can you guess which one was their favorite??

Here’s a hint: ????

Three different Valentine's Day Cupcakes that are easy to make and so cute!

I saw something along these lines on Pinterest a while ago, and it just cracked me up (by the way, if this was originally your idea, let me know so I can give due credit!). We just barely saw the emoji movie, so I thought this guy would be a fun addition to my Valentine’s day line up of cupcakes.

Besides the fact that kids everywhere will get a kick out of this cupcake, I also thought it might be kind of cute for a Gal-entine’s day party.

Just right click on the image above to save it to your desktop and print. It fits to an 8×11 print size, and all you have to do it cut out the images and tape them to a toothpick before inserting into the cupcake (which I simply frosted using a large round tip and candy eyes).

Easy peasy!

Three different Valentine's Day Cupcakes that are easy to make and so cute!

The chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes were my personal favorite. SO simple, but also pretty classy, right???

Pipe on the white frosting using any tip you like. Then melt down some store-bought chocolate frosting (you could also use my homemade ganache instead). Dip a strawberry into the frosting and then plop it on top of the frosted cupcake!

You could use actual melted chocolate if you wanted to. It would harden up, just the way it does on a chocolate dipped strawberry. But I felt like that would make the general eating of the cupcake more difficult so I went a different way. However, it’s totally up to you!

Three different Valentine's Day Cupcakes that are easy to make and so cute!

Three different Valentine's Day Cupcakes that are easy to make and so cute!

I used a Wilton 1M frosting tip to pipe on these sweet roses, and it could not have been any easier. Start with the tip in the center of the cupcake and swirl it moving outwards.

I used Pillsbury Vibrant Vanilla in red, because I was all about seeing how quickly I could whip up a batch of these cupcakes. But you could certainly make your own homemade buttercream instead!

Three different Valentine's Day Cupcakes that are easy to make and so cute!

I’m putting my favorite chocolate cupcake and chocolate frosting recipe below. If you’d rather make a vanilla cupcake, click here for my favorite recipe. And click here for my favorite vanilla buttercream.

Yellow cake soaked in cheesecake pudding and salted caramel, topped with Cool Whip and a salted caramel swirl.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake Poke Cake Recipe

Yellow cake soaked in cheesecake pudding and salted caramel, topped with Cool Whip and a salted caramel swirl.

Yellow cake soaked in cheesecake pudding and salted caramel, topped with Cool Whip and a salted caramel swirl.

If you love caramel and you love cheesecake, then I can tell you right now– this recipe is for YOU.

I didn’t really think I could be surprised by a poke cake anymore, but I have to confess that this one was shockingly good. I don’t mean that I was shocked that it was good. Just that it was that good. Like, it’s on an entirely new level of good.

Yellow cake soaked in cheesecake pudding and salted caramel, topped with Cool Whip and a salted caramel swirl.

The yellow cake base is simple enough– I just used a cake mix. If you’d rather, you can always use this homemade and utterly delicious yellow cake recipe. That’s totally up to you.

As for me? Most of the time, I don’t mind a good cake mix cake. They’re soft, fluffy, and wonderfully dependable. ????????

Once the cake is baked (and while it’s still warm), poke holes in the cake and fill them with cheesecake pudding and salted caramel sauce. You can use a fork if you’d like, I see a lot of people do that. But I really prefer using the handle of a sturdy wooden mixing spoon. Bigger holes = more filling = more better.

Yellow cake soaked in cheesecake pudding and salted caramel, topped with Cool Whip and a salted caramel swirl.

Top the whole thing with whipped cream and more salted caramel sauce and let it chill for a few hours. Once everything has come together, you’ll have this incredibly indulgent cake filled with caramel and cheesecake flavors. And the light, fluffy, yet sinfully saturated-in-caramel texture is absolutely unbeatable!

This cake is so easy to make– it really just takes a few minutes of hands on time. And it’s so, so, SO good! This is a perfect Thanksgiving or Fall dessert, but it’s still a cool and creamy summer treat too.

So what are you waiting for?? I can’t wait for you to try it!

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

Hostess Cupcake Cake Recipe

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you’ll love this cake version that’s all grown up!

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

OH my gosh. This cake. YOU GUYS! Where to even begin?!? Because, honestly, this cake was all kinds of ridiculous. In the very best way…

I remember back when my mom would pack my lunches and would on a very rare occasion send me to school with a Hostess Cupcake in my lunchbox. I tried to not let my friends see me geek out over a cupcake in (but seriously, how come none of the other 5th graders ever seemed as fall-over-yourself excited about cupcakes as I did?? Was I truly alone in that feeling?!). So I’d carefully set it aside until I had finished my lunch. I wanted it to be the very last thing that I tasted before going back to class.

And there was no just shoveling the whole thing in my mouth. Oh no. I took my time and savored each component separately. First, I peeled (yes, peeled, you know what I’m talking about!) off the chocolate icing and ate that first. Next I scooped out the cream filling. And finally, I’d eat the remaining cake. If I was lucky enough to get a Hostess Cupcake in my lunchbox, you can darn well believe I made it a full-blown experience when it came time to eat it!

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

Being the mature adult that I am today, it’s been long, long time since I’ve sampled fine packaged delicacies such as a Hostess Cupcake. But that doesn’t mean I hold it in any less regard. In fact, I made this cake as an ode to my favorite lunchbox treat!

Basically, if a Hostess cupcake grew up to be a full-blown layer cake, this is what it would be. And it’s nothing short of OMG SO GOOD. To use my most eloquent terminology there.

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

Today’s cake recipe combines layers of my all-time favorite chocolate cake with a copycat Little Debbie cream filling (that I also used in these Oatmeal Cream Pies), and it’s topped with a sinfully indulgent chocolate ganache.

It’s literally a larger-than-life Hostess Cupcake with better chocolate frosting, a better cream filling, and much better chocolate cake.

So, what I’m say is pretty much this: if you were that child geeking out in the cafeteria over a Hostess Cupcake… this one’s for you ????.

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Copycat Recipe | www.somethingswanky.com

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Copycat Recipe

It’s Ice Cream Week on Something Swanky and Crazy for Crust!*

Click the links above to see all of our fun ice cream recipes from this week.

***Originally posted in July 2014

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Copycat Recipe | somethingswanky.com

I’ve mentioned before that my husband isn’t a big fan of mix-in type ice cream places (like Coldstone). He’ll eat there if I make him go (I mean, it is ice cream, after all). But then, as we’re driving past the Baskin Robbins on our way home, he’ll heave a not-so-subtle sigh and gaze longingly at the rear-view mirror.

I determined that our difference in opinion over ice cream shops is really the difference between liking hard or soft ice cream. He prefers hard scooped, I’d rather have something more along the lines of ice cream soup. I dunno… he’s probably in the majority there. But I can’t help it– I love soft, mushy ice cream full of big candy chunks and hot fudge.

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Copycat Recipe | somethingswanky.com

However, he has totally turned me on to Baskin Robbins’ Chocolate Chip and Mint Chocolate Chip ice creams.

Because….. ohemgee.

I am so in love with the way their “chocolate chips” aren’t really chocolate chips at all. Instead, it’s full of a thin pieces of brittle chocolate that ribbon throughout the ice cream. And it takes chocolate chip ice cream to an amazing new level.

Just like the Stracciatella I mentioned last week, Baskin Robbins-style chocolate chip ice cream is achieved in the same way– by pouring chocolate (or in this case, Homemade Magic Shell) into the ice cream during the last 5 minutes of churning.

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Copycat Recipe | somethingswanky.com

This Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is SO easy and so yummy. Mint is one of my husband’s favorite ice cream flavors, but you could easily make this regular old chocolate chip ice cream by simply omitting the peppermint extract!

I use a Cuisinart ICE-21 Ice Cream Maker to make churned ice cream, and far I’ve loved it. It’s pretty inexpensive (only $49!), easy to use, and makes delicious ice cream in about 20-30 minutes. I would highly recommend it if you’re looking for a simple, day-to-day use ice cream machine.

Enjoy!

Cococnut Cake | www.somethingswanky.com

Coconut Cake Recipe

My favorite doctored up cake mix combined with my favorite from-scratch coconut buttercream. I love that this cake is both beautiful and simple.

Cococnut Cake | somethingswanky.com

Originally posted in May 2014.

I thought it would be fun to celebrate this Mother’s day by spending this whole week posting the favorite dessert recipes of all of the mothers in my life! Starting with my Grandma.

I’ve posted some of her recipes on here before. Check out this Red Velvet Cake and these Monster Cookies. Those are hers and two of my very favorite recipes.

Cococnut Cake | somethingswanky.com

My Grandma is one of my heroes– both in the kitchen and out. She is genuine and kind and has always been such a great support to me. I am so thankful to have her in my life, and to really have her. She’s always taken a real interest in the things that are important to me and has been so encouraging of my pursuits.

She has been such an important and permanent influence in my life…. as have her baked goods. So many of my memories of time with my Grandma revolve around holiday baking. I loved (and I still do) sitting at her counter, watching her work, and just talking.

Whilst eating Monster Cookies of course 😉

Cococnut Cake | somethingswanky.com

Grandma says she likes coconut cake best, so here we are today with a super easy and yummy coconut cake. Perfect for summer! It’s simply my favorite doctored up cake mix (seriously, you can’t beat this recipe), and my favorite coconut buttercream. I love the layers on this cake too– just like the rest of it, they’re both beautiful and simple.

Plus, my grandma is the queen of layered cakes. If she were making this, it would have at least 6 layers. Maybe I’ll get there one day, but for now I’m settling for a measly four layers ;).