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The Ingenious Trick for Making Heart-Shaped Cupcakes

Kelli Foster
Kelli FosterSenior Contributing Food Editor
Kelli is a Senior Contributing Food Editor for Kitchn. She's a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and author of the cookbooks, Plant-Based Buddha Bowls, The Probiotic Kitchen, Buddha Bowls, and Everyday Freekeh Meals. She lives in New Jersey.
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published May 25, 2023
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Credit: Kelli Foster

I am very much into festive desserts (especially cupcakes), and if those desserts happen to be heart-shaped, so be it. It’s not just a Valentine’s Day thing for me; I’ll happily bake up a batch of heart-shaped cupcakes every chance I get, including for potlucks, my book club, and whenever I have friends over.

But I’m I not buying any special use-once-a-year muffin tins. Instead I’m making the most of this ingenious hack for making heart-shaped cupcakes that I picked up just last year…

Credit: Kelli Foster

Aluminum Foil Is the Secret to Making Heart-Shaped Cupcakes

To make heart-shaped cupcakes, you just need to create a little indentation in the cupcake’s shape. The baker I learned this from recommended using a marble or a ceramic pie weight, but I didn’t have either of those things on hand. So, instead of buying yet another thing, I decided to experiment, and found what was (possibly) an even better solution: aluminum foil, which rolls easily into a ball that is exactly the size you need it to be.

Here’s How to Make Heart-Shaped Cupcakes Using Foil Balls

You’ll start by tightly crumpling small pieces of foil, one for each cupcake, so they’ll give your cupcake a good indentation. The balls should be about the size of a marble and tightly packed so they don’t rise up towards the top of the muffin well. Place the cupcake liners in each well of the muffin tin. Then place one foil ball at the top of each well between the liner and the pan. This will make an indent in the top of the cupcake that resembles a heart. Spoon the batter into each liner, filling it no more than halfway. and bake the cupcakes according to the recipe instructions.

When they’re done, remove the heart-shaped treats and decorate the tops with your favorite icing! I’ll chalk this up to yet another smart way to use aluminum foil.

This post was originally published on Kitchn. Read it there: This Trick for Making Heart-Shaped Cupcakes Without a Special Pan Is Ingenious