Valentine's Day Yumness, Part 1

It's almost Valentine's Day!
The drawback to long distance dating is that you don't necessarily get to be with your Valentine on the actual holiday.
But the cool thing is, we get to celebrate early (and often!).
In preparation for our weekend, I made a heart-shaped vanilla strawberry cake, and 2 dozen caramel-filled chocolate cupcakes.

Here's the recipe for the cupcakes!
Caramel-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes
Courtesy of Dough Puncher
Yield ~2 dozen cupcakes


Chocolate Cupcakes (super easy One-Bowl by Martha Stewart)
Ingredients:
Cocoa powder- 3/4 c
Flour- 1 1/2 c
Sugar- 1 1/2 c
Baking soda- 1 1/2 tsp
Baking powder- 3/4 tsp
Salt- 1/3 tsp
Eggs- 2, lightly whipped/beaten
Warm water- 3/4 c
Buttermilk- 3/4 c
Canola oil- 3 tbsp
Vanilla- 1 tsp
Directions:
1. Mix together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, canola oil, and vanilla. Stir with a whisk until smooth.
3. Fill lined cupcake pans- each about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-14 minutes, or until the tester comes out clean.

Caramel Filling
Ingredients:
Butter- 1/2 c (1 stick)
Sweetened condensed milk- 1/2 c
Brown sugar- 1/2 c
Corn syrup- 1/2 c
Heavy cream- 1 1/2 c, divided (1 c, 1/2 c)
Directions:
1. Combine butter, sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 c cream in a medium saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat, constantly stirring, until candy thermometer reaches 230 degrees.
3. Remove from heat and stir in 1 c cream. Let cool (putting it in the fridge speeds up the process).

Whipped Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients:
Heavy cream- 2 c
Semi-sweet chocolate chips- 3 c
Directions:
1. Pour chocolate chips into medium-sized heatproof bowl.
2. Heat the cream until just simmering- it rises fast, don't panic, just get that sucker off the heat ASAP!
3. Pour cream over the chocolate chips. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir with a whisk until smooth.
4. Let cool for 30-40 minutes.
5. Whip until ganache is pale and almost doubles in volume.

Assembly:
Once the cupcakes are cool, cut out the center/use a corer. Fill with caramel, pipe on ganache, and shower it in sprinkles!

Supplies:
Heart liners~ Cupcake Social on Etsy
Heart sprinkles~ Layer Cake Shop
Pretty pretty cake stands~ 3 sizes, Home Goods
Ribbon- Michael's