Cream-filled Heart Cakes

When we were kids, we used to sneak away to the Loves convenience store a couple of blocks away from home to buy Hostess Cupcakes (Ding Dongs if they were out of the cupcakes). I think they were frequently out of the cupcakes thanks to my siblings. These cream filled chocolate cakes are for my favorite little Ding-Dong...a nickname he hears mostly coming from me or my dad...

I was thinking of my little guy last night and "Heart Shaped Ding Dongs!" popped into my head. Start with your favorite/easiest chocolate cake mix/batter. Spray the heart silicon mold with non-stick spray. No heart-shaped mold? No problem, make cupcakes.

I over-filled the molds on purpose so the cake would bake over the tops to be able to cut the tops flat with a serrated knife. You can trim the tops as soon as they come out of the oven. Then tip the mold upside down and with a little tug on the silicon, they all fall out. I only have one mold, so it took 4 times in the oven at 350F for 12min.

All neatly trimmed.

As the hearts baked, I started on the cream filling. There were two filling recipes I was eyeing, and I went for the one that didn't make me have to go to the grocery store. The other one called for marshmallow fluff.

Whisk 1/2c of milk and 2T of flour in a small sauce pan over medium heat. The milk and flour will make a pasty gravy. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Cream 1/2c shortening (I used 1/3c) and 1/2c granulated sugar. Add the pasty/gravy stuff and beat on high for 5min. Add 1/2t vanilla (I used clear vanilla to keep it nice and white) and 1/2c powdered sugar.

Continue beating until fluffy. I added the filling to a piping bag with a large star tip. Easiest way to fill the bag when the kids aren't around is to drape the bag over a cup and pull the wide edge of the bag over the side of the cup.

I searched high and low for that device that cores cupcakes and then decided I must not have ever bought one, so I used my smallest flower cookie cutter to remove some of the middle of the heart. If you are at this step and made cupcakes, core from the top of the cupcake.

If you can't even find a smallest flower cutter, just pinch out the center of the heart.

Fill the centers with the cream- kind of burst at the seams:

All filled and ready to seal:

To keep the bottom of the heart from drying out, we are going to seal it with a coat of warm chocolate icing. I added about a 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips to the chocolate icing.

Dunk the bottom of the heart:

For cupcakes, dunk the top of the cupcake and let it set until ready for piping. For the hearts, let the icing on the bottom of the heart set firm enough that it won't stick to wax paper. Don't be impatient- this will seal the moisture inside.

Then coat the tops with the warm melted icing/chocolate chip mixture. Pour it thick enough that it covers evenly and drips down the side over all edges. You can scrape off any excess and rewarm for the next batch, but be careful not to scorch by rewarming too many times.

Let the hearts set. I mean really set. You don't want your thumb print in the side and when I say impatient, I am talking about myself. So I left to make a swirly pattern in the snow.

When I came home, they were plenty ready for piping. Pipe the little white swirl or "love" with vanilla frosting. For something like this, I use a Ziplock bag with a spoonful of frosting and then snip one tiny corner of the bag for piping.