I hope you guys saved room for dessert?  You will make room for these adorable Valentine’s Day cupcake cake treats!  Once my little chef saw this adorable idea from Hosier Homemade, he was soo excited to give it a try.  

My little chef asked me what exactly is “fondue”.  I just said it’s small pieces of food that you dip in other food and eat it.  He bought it so we moved on.  This recipe is a simple as it gets: Mini Cupcakes, 2-3 of your favorite frostings and as many of your favorite sprinkles as your hearts desire.

We used a white cake box mix to make the cupcakes.  The recipe called for 3 egg whites.  Separating eggs can be a tough job for little hands.  We used this fantastic OXO Good Grips 3-in-1 Egg Separator to do the job.

I found this cute silicon heart shaped tray at Wal-Mart in the seasonal section.  After mixing the batter, we added it to a sandwich bag, sealed the top and cut one of the corners to make our homemade pastry bag.  This made it easier to add the batter to the heart shaped tray.  Fill it up about half and be careful not to overfill.  We did on many of them and they came out… well a bit poofy.

Place the tray on a cookie sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes.  We cooked at 350 degrees but feel free to try a lower temperature if you are concerned that the tray will melt.  Once baked, let it cool for 10 mins then add a popsicle stick or skewer at the bottom.  You can even use a simple plastic fork.

Then start the FUNdue by dipping the cupcake in your favorite frosting….

And then your favorite sprinkles or toppings.

Have fun making different combinations. What a great way to say “I love you” to your little Valentine!

Oh and I found this great trick to creating heart shaped cupcakes if you don’t have a special pan or tray on 52 Kitchen Adventures.  First, make balls out of aluminum foil: 1 big and 2 small for each baking cup. See the reference above to the size of a dime.  Then, place 1 big ball at the top of each baking cup, so it folds inward. Place 1 small ball on the bottom sides so they are slightly bent and make a heart shape. And finally, fill the baking cup half way and bake cupcakes as recipe dictates and let cool.  It worked perfectly.

Happy Cooking!