Cardiology Cupcakes

I just finished up my 3rd rotation. Getting closer!! This month was at the VA Hospital with a cardiology team. Of course I had to make cupcakes for them and I wanted something cardiology related. There aren't very many ideas out there for cardiology cupcakes though. I was thinking EKG or something, but then I decided to check chocolate molds online. I found one on amazon with anatomical hearts. Score! I opted for a red velvet cake with cream cheese buttercream.

For the cake:
1 box white cake mix
Red velvet bakery emulsion

So the easiest thing to tell you is to follow the box instructions. I did not measure anything so I'm of no help on this one. I did use the red velvet bakery emulsion (I found it at Hobby Lobby) thinking it would be easier than food coloring and cocoa powder. It was not. I used almost half a bottle and still had to add cocoa powder. Or I guess you could just start with a red velvet mix :)

For the frosting:
1 stick butter
8 oz whipped cream cheese
2-4 tbsp milk
powdered sugar
vanilla & almond flavoring

You know the drill. Mix it all up, add powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency. Vanilla and/or almond are optional. I used just a tiny bit of each.

For the hearts:
red, blue, and milk chocolate candy melts
candy mold

First I painted the blue in the mold, just randomly across the veins for a little color and at the top for contrast. Then I painted a layer over that with red candy melts. Make sure you allow time for each color to set before starting with the next one or they'll start running together. I filled the rest of the cavity with milk chocolate just for taste. I don't think the vanilla melts taste very good so I always fill in with chocolate. These little hearts would also be good for Halloween which is right around the corner!

-Happy Baking!