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The sweetest Strawberry Conversation Heart Cupcakes. Lightly sweetened strawberry cupcakes made with real strawberry jam and hinted with lemon and vanilla. Each cupcake is generously frosted with the most delicious strawberry cream cheese frosting and finished off with a light lemony glaze. These are easy, fun, and so very delicious! The loveliest cupcakes to bake up, tomorrow, this weekend, or really…any time of year.
I wasn’t really planning on any Valentine’s Day desserts this year, but then? Well, then these happened and here we are! To be honest, my content these days is very spur of the moment. It’s whatever I’m feeling that day or whatever my family suggests. I know they say that when you’re busy it’s best to be organized. But I find that really, really challenging…and I do consider myself an organized person. Well, at least for the most part!
Anyway, my point is, I wasn’t planning to make these, but then little Miss Asher popped up in my text messages late Saturday night with an idea. Conversation Hearts for Valentine’s Day, but make them chocolate. I think she must have seen something online because she had the whole idea and it went like this…
“You know those candy hearts with the cute messages on them? What if you made like a large chocolate-covered version of those. I don’t know what you would write on the chocolate on yet though”.
“So what do you think?”
I loved, and still love, her idea, but essentially she just wanted chocolate hearts or really one giant chocolate heart. Aside from a chocolate cake, I was stumped on what to do, but then this idea hit me. I was about to make something totally different and suddenly I thought about strawberry cupcakes.
It was very, very random, but I figured I could probably make a strawberry cupcake into a pretty cute Conversation Heart strawberry cupcake. So I switched gears completely and made these. They took a few batches to get just right, but they were worth the effort.
I mean, I know they’re not perfect by any means, but personally, I love um. And what’s even more important? They’re delicious and made with double the amounts of strawberry. The moisture and the flavor are pretty darn perfect.
When I set out to make these, I knew I wanted them to be easy. I also knew that I wanted to make them with only real strawberries. I’ve found so many strawberry cupcakes made with everything but strawberries and instead use a lot of food coloring. So I knew using real berries was key.
I tried a few things out, but in the end, I ended up using a combination of strawberry jam and freeze-dried strawberries to create the perfect cupcake. The jam has real chunks of strawberries and all the flavor, while the freeze-dried berries add both flavor and color. I tested with fresh berries too, but the jam gives the most concentrated and delicious strawberry flavor. Plus…the jam keeps the cupcakes EASY. Almost no prep work is involved and no special equipment.
Just mix, bake, then frost. So simple and easy.
To create the heart shape, I used broken pretzel rods and the tiniest amount of foil wedged between the cupcake and the mold. This may sound like an odd method, but they actually worked out so well. I took photos so you would have a visual.
Try not to stress too much about making the shape perfect. I ended up loving that mine came out imperfect. Each was unique, cute, and so sweet!
Which is maybe the best part? Nah, it’s really the cupcakes as a whole that makes these so delicious.
I did a cream cheese frosting with a light lemon glaze to create my “conversations”. For the cream cheese frosting, I love the pairing with the strawberries. I used all freeze-dried strawberries, they add flavor and color, while allowing us not to have to use food coloring.
If you’re new to freeze-dried strawberries, most grocery stores carry them in the dried fruit aisle. And you can of course order them on Amazon. To make them into a powder, you’ll need to grind them in a food processor or blender. It’s an extra step, but the freeze-dried berries are key to creating that perfect cupcake. If you’re ordering via Amazon, I just discovered they carry dried strawberry powder too. So another option is to order this and save yourself a step!
To create a “conversion” on top of my cupcakes, I made a simple Meyer lemon glaze. I colored it with a couple of drops of blood orange juice. This gives the glaze the daintiest pink color…exactly what I wanted. With food coloring, you tend to end up with this unnatural neon-like color. But the blood orange juice works so perfectly to create a light shade of pink. You can also just make the glaze white, either works, and the lemony glaze is delicious no matter what!
To decorate, I use a mix of candy Conversation Hearts and real shredded roses. Yes, roses are edible, but make sure to use organic roses or culinary roses. Just cut using a sharp knife and sprinkle them over the cookies. As I’ve said before, flowers are my “sprinkle” of choice.
These are obviously great for Valentine’s Day, but honestly? I’ll be making them year-round. I already want to make them again come March when the fresh spring strawberries start to arrive so I can first do a homemade jam with the berries!!
The awesome thing about these cupcakes…they’re actually really simple and even more fun to make. They’d be great for baking up with young kids this week and allowing them to decorate the tops.
I’m not skilled when it comes to writing with frosting, so the best I could do was XO, XOXO, and LOVE. I’m sure you guys are better and will create the cutest cupcakes…I can’t wait to see them!!
Looking for more Valentine’s Day desserts? Here are a few to try:
Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake
Vegan Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake
Lastly, if you make these Strawberry Conversation Heart Cupcakes, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I am just starating to make these beautiful cupcakes but am wondering if I halved the recipe and added it to the original, to amke 24,cupcakes,will tjhat work?
Hey Karen,
Do you mean do one and a half of the recipe? Yes, I think that will work well. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Your recipes are wonderful
Thanks so much Anna!
simply loved its content
Thanks!
How I would like to learn how to make recipes like that, but when testing here it doesn’t work.
Hey Alicia,
Sorry I am not sure what you need help with here. Please let me know what I can do for you. xTieghan
These look so good! Would this recipe be good without the icing, just as strawberry muffins? Thanks!
Hey Court,
Sure, you could skip the icing if that’s not your thing:) I hope you love the recipe! Let me know how they turn out! xTieghan
what a fun Valentines Day treat, and as you write, fun to make, thank you!
Thanks so much Sabrina! xTieghan
Hello Tieghan, lovely cupcakes.
Just wanted to share my experience with purchasing freeze dried strawberry powder. I ordered to use in a large cupcake order for frosting, hoping to save time by not grinding the whole freeze dried berries. When I received my berry powder, it was in one giant Lump!! It may have just been a bad batch but I have yet to order again. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hey Mary,
I am delighted you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Sorry to hear about your strawberries! xTieghan
Nuts.com sells both freeze dried strawberries (regular and organic), plus the powder
Thanks Cathy!!
Oh my gosh, you’ve made something completely unique, cute, and accessible. These look so fun! What a great idea.
Thanks so much Sarah!! xTieghan
A marble works well to make heart-shaped cupcakes too. I don’t have the kids marbles around anymore so this is a great idea. Thank you!
Thanks for the tip Judy!! xTieghan
What brand of freeze dried strawberries do you use? I’ve had a hard time trying to locate these where I live.
Hey Sam,
Here you go:
http://l.thrv.me/HBH1092-natierra-organic-freeze-dried-st
I hope you love the recipe, let me know how they turn out! xTieghan
Do you know about how many grams of the freeze dried strawberries I need to buy for 2 cups?
Thanks!
Hey Andrea,
You will want to use 473.18 grams of freeze dried strawberries. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These are so cute! Any chance you have a Valentine’s Day cocktail in store?
Thanks so much Megan! Here are some cocktails that I think would be fun:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/rose-and-ginger-palmoa/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/citrus-pomegranate-champagne-twist/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/vodka-watermelon-lemonade/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/blackberry-champagne-mule/
I hope you love the recipes, let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! I have made so many of your recipes. I love them! I would like to ask. How many packages of freeze dried strawberries did you use? Is it ok just to measure them in the measuring cups?
Hey Lea,
Yes, the recipe calls for 2 cups of freeze dried strawberries:) I only used one packet. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Thank you so much for your reply Tieghan! I ended up measuring freeze dried strawberries in measuring cup. It worked out great! I made them today and my husband loved it! Thank you so much for another great recipe!
Hey Lea,
Happy Monday!! 💘 Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Hi T! Wish I could access my recipe box without saving a recipe. Any way to to this? Your photos are great by the way… thanks!
Hey Tina,
Thanks so much! If you roll your mouse over “recipes” in the top left, the “recipe box” option will pop up. I hope this helps! xTieghan
Do you think this batter could work in a loaf pan? If so, would you change anything in the recipe? Maybe the bake time?
Hey Claire,
I think that would work well, I would increase your baking time and start checking for doneness at 45 minutes. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan