This Valentine's Day Charcuterie Board with Mini Heart Cakes is a fun and pretty dessert idea that's perfect for all the sweethearts in your life. And, it's even better with Duncan Hines making it so easy! I picked a few of my favorite Duncan Hines cakes and baked them in the mini cake molds. If I had to pick a favorite - it would be my Strawberry Sour Cream Cake - SO GOOD. The recipe is below!
Duncan Hines flavors & additions
I used a few different cake mixes with these little beauties making each mix the same and tossing in a few goodies inspired for Valentine's Day. I enriched the recipe a little bit, adding an extra egg and sour cream. The slight adjustments helped the mini-cakes hold their shape and taste deliciously light & fluffy. The cakes I made for the charcuterie board were:
- Signature Perfectly Moist STRAWBERRY SUPREME + freeze-dried strawberries
- Perfectly Moist DARK CHOCOLATE FUDGE + toffee & chocolate crunchies
- Signature Perfectly Moist RED VELVET + white chocolate chips
- Perfectly Moist CLASSIC WHITE + freeze-dried raspberries
Other ideas for a Valentine's Day charcuterie dessert board
I added a few candies and cookies to the Valentine's Day Charcuterie board to round things out. You could also add fresh berries, chocolate dipped pretzels and strawberries, mints, and some edible flowers for decoration. Charcuterie boards are a favorite around here. Perfect for buffets and as a centerpiece for table. It's nice to serve things in smaller sizes and have little something for everyone.
Valentine's Day mini heart cake tins
The tins! You'll find several options for cake molds in craft, kitchen, and restaurant stores. I usually go online if I can't find something local. The one I used here is a Nordic Ware that I found on Amazon. It's a good idea to check how heat safe the molds are and what to use for greasing the tins, especially if you're using silicone. I found using a baking spray (with flour in the spray) worked perfectly for the Nordic Ware. It's heavy duty and scrubbed up easily.
Using freeze-dried fruit in Cakes
Have you tried using freeze-dried fruit in baking? It's different than 'dehydrated' fruit. Freeze-dried fruit is dry and brittle, totally devoid of moisture. The flavor is intense and concentrated so when the fruit is added to something moist, like cake batter, it rehydrates but doesn't get soggy. You can find freeze-dried fruit in some grocery stores and definitely online.
In the mood for other cake ideas? You might also like The Best Zucchini Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Thank you to Duncan Hines for sponsoring this Valentine's Day Mini Heart Cake post! All opinions are my own and I appreciate the support for A Food Lover's Life.
Strawberry Sour Cream Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box Duncan Hines Strawberry Supreme Cake
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup neutral oil
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¾ cup freeze-dried strawberries, divided optional
- fresh strawberries for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350f
- In a large mixing bowl beat the cake mix, eggs, water, milk, oil, and sour cream until thoroughly combined. About 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides to ensure everything is mixed well.
- Optional - add ½ cup of the freeze-dried strawberries to the batter and fold in. Save the rest to add directly to the mini heart cake tin (or bundt cake, regular cake pan, etc).
- Spray the mini heart cake tin (or cake pan) with non-stick baker's spray (or grease with butter then lightly flour). If using the freeze-dried strawberries, add a few to the cake tin then add the batter until ¾ way full. Tap the cake tin to remove any bubbles and evenly distribute the batter into the edges.
- Place the cake tin on a separate baking sheet so the cakes bake on an even surface. Bake 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and cakes are done. Allow to cool 10 minutes before trying to unmold the cakes. Very gently run a butterknife down into the edges about ½ an inch. Carefully tilt the cake tin on it's side a little bit to help the mini-cake pop out with a bit of gravity. They should pop on out with some easing here and there. Cool completely then top with fresh sliced strawberry for garnish (optional).
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