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14 recipes for Valentine's Day desserts

Stir It Up! has 14 delicious, decadent, romantic dessert recipes, sure to bring a smile to your Valentine's face.

Red velvet surprise cupcakes

The Runaway Spoon
This is a nifty twist on a classic recipe, a combination of black bottom cupcakes, and red velvet cupcakes. The 'surprise' is the cream cheese layer that substitutes frosting.

By Perre Coleman Magness, The Runaway Spoon
Makes 16 cupcakes 

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1-1/3 cups sugar, divided
1 large egg
1 cup white chocolate morsels
1-1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (1-ounce) bottle red food coloring

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until creamy and smooth. Gradually beat in 1/3 cup sugar until thoroughly combined. Add the egg and beat until smooth. Fold in the white chocolate morsels. Set aside

3. In a large bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup of sugar, the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Stir together the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla and red food coloring in a measuring jug, then pour into the well. Stir just until the batter is mixed. Spoon the batter evenly between the 16 muffin cups, filling each half-full. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese filling over the batter in the cups.

4. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean and the cream cheese filling is set. Cool for 5 minutes in the tins, then remove to cool completely on a wire rack.

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Mark Sappenfield
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