Conversation Heart Cupcakes

Instructions

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a 9x13 cake pan with parchment paper, grease and flour.
2. Sift together the cake flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl.
3. In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. In a measuring cup combine the milk and extracts.
5. Add about a third of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar and mix until just combined. Then, add half the liquid and mix in slowly. Repeat with the next third of the flour mixture and half of the liquid. Finally, add the remaining flour and mix until no more lumps of flour remain.
6. Pour the batter into a large bowl and clean out your mixer bowl making sure it is completely clean and dry.
7. In the bowl of your mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter and continue folding until combined. Be careful not to deflate the egg whites too much or to over mix the batter.
8. Remove about ⅓ of the batter to another bowl and add the pink food coloring, mixing very gently until uniform in color.
9. Spread the pink batter evenly into the prepared 9x13 pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until firm to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Once the pink cake has cooled, use a small heart cookie cutter to cut out heart shapes.
11. Line your cupcake pans with liners. I used fun heart liners to continue the theme.
12. Place about 1 tablespoon of white batter in the bottom of the liner then place a cake heart standing up into the batter. Spoon white batter around the heart until it's almost completely covered. Repeat until all the batter and hearts are gone.
13. Bake each pan at 350F degrees for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the white batter. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Buttercream

1. In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, salt, half the cream and extract and mix until combined.
2. Add the remaining cream and beat on high for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Remove about ¼ of the buttercream and tint green. Color the remaining buttercream purple.
4. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round tip with the purple buttercream. Pipe a swirl of frosting onto each cupcake then sprinkle with purple sugar crystals.
5. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large open star, multi-pronged tip with the green buttercream. Squeeze a dollop of frosting onto the purple buttercream on each cupcake. Top with green sugar crystals and a conversation heart candy.