Ask Allison #5: Heart-shaped Cupcakes

Everything you ever wanted to know about baking cupcakes but were afraid to ask. Every Friday I answer a reader-submitted question about cupcakes, whether it's a baking issue, a decorating issue, a how-to-transport issue...whatever it is, just ask Allison and I'll do my best to give you a good answer. Send your questions to my email address, allison AT crossfitnyc DOT com and be sure to put "Ask Allison" in the subject line. Now, let's move on to this week's question!

Q: I’m looking for heart-shaped cupcake molds and liners. I have seen the silicon molds but I am looking for a metal tray of a dozen or more. The silicon molds don’t hold the shape as well as the traditional metal pans. Also, I have been looking for months for a heart-shaped liner. Do you know of a company that carries these or can custom make some?

Thanks so much.

Diann

A:Diann, after I read your question, I searched and searched the internet to see if I could find metal tins that would make heart-shaped cupcakes. While certainly I have seen metal tins to make heart-shaped cakes, I couldn't find any that would make cupcakes.

And I had a feeling that even if I could find a pan like that, it would be impossible to find cupcake liners that would fit those pans, and you had specifically wanted not only a pan but liners for that pan. The problem is, you'd have to have the same company manufacturing both items so that they would fit together correctly.

And so just as I was about to abandon all hope, and feared that I wouldn't be able to give you a solution to your problem, I happened upon this photo on Flickr from Sandra (socake):



I couldn't believe what I saw! Perfectly formed heart-shaped cupcakes! In fact, the liners themselves had those crimps at the top and bottom of the heart, and I wondered how she did it. In the comments on that photo I couldn't find any clues, but then I looked at this other photo she had posted of a pink version:



And right there in the comments, someone asked Sandra how she did it, and she wrote back: "these are just normal round foil cupcake papers that I shaped into hearts!"

And that's when it became obvious to me. Just use the foil liners on a cookie sheet and crimp the top and the bottom, and the circular quality of the liner takes care of the heart's "curves". Sometimes the simplest solution is right there for you to think of...luckily for me, Sandra figured it out for us and shared it with all of us via Flickr.

Let us know how it works out for you, Diann!

See the previous Ask Allison columns:

Ask Allison #4: Cupcake liners


Ask Allison #3: Filled Cupcakes

Ask Allison #2: Using strawberries in cupcakes

Ask Allison #1: Frosting with fondant