Valentine's Day Cupcake Decorating Ideas + Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake + Red Velvet Cupcake Recipes!
- Bruce Coffman
- Dec 20, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Jan 7
I've been wanting to do this one for a while now. I was going to do a Christmas/holiday cupcake decorating ideas article but I couldn't get AI to cooperate with me. Yes, I used AI to generate the images from my prompts for this article so if you're an IA hater you can just click away now with my apologies. To me it is a tool to help express my ideas. I can't afford to bake and decorate all this stuff and then hire a professional photographer to take shots for me. So, had I not used the TOOL that AI is, I wouldn't have instead hired a professional photographer because I do not have the money for such shenanigans. There just would have been no article. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Now, if you're still with me after all that, here we go! Before I get into the decorating ideas, a word about the image above. If you don't have a fancy cake stand you can easily make your own with items from the Dollar Tree or a similar type store on a budget. Simply use one of the glass candle stick holders and a clear glass plate. Use a good quality craft glue specifically for glass to glue them together. Bingo! Instant gorgeous, expensive looking cake stand. I do love the idea AI threw in of displaying the cake stand on a pretty tray. If you don't have a silver tray, you can also usually pick up plastic charger plates at Dollar Tree around the holidays. They usually come in metallic gold tone, silver tone and red. Gorgeous!
Just the Basics
Let's start simple, shall we? Pipe on some frosting or icing, whichever you call it, and add those little candy sprinkles. So easy! But not that creative. Trust me, it gets better so please keep reading. This is just a basic, versatile idea that can be easily adjusted for any holiday or occasion or even everyday depending on your color combinations. But I know you didn't come here for bland, so you're gonna love what I've come up with for you further down!
Quick "commercial break" to help try and feed me and the kitty cats. I really kinda want this. It's a very affordable cupcake decorating kit that looks like it would be beginner friendly. And I would definitely be a beginner. I made sure it is described as being good quality and not dangerous. It doesn't have the California warning for any dangerous metals or plastics that some Temu items do. This should be a very nice, food safe set that will last and it has good reviews on the site. Learn more or grab this 116 piece cake decorating kit here.
Now that the business portion of the program has concluded, keep going for the fun stuff!
Berry Beautiful!
Our next contestant on the cupcake is cute is this entry which is also great for everyday or any occasion. Just plop a berry on top for instant garnish and eye appeal. Fresh strawberries or raspberries would be great, but you could use any of your favorites. You might be able to make frozen work but I'm thinking that'd get messy.
Oh, it's gets better and more creative. I promise!
Candy Crush It!
Pile on the sweet stuff! Hard candies would be so cute. And what a great way to use up leftover Christmas holiday peppermints and other candies you already have lying around.
Simply apply your icing and use it as the "glue" to stick on your candy pieces. Too cute! You could also use the Valentine's Day themed m&m candies in red, pink and white or a knockoff version. Gummy bears, spice drops, any kind of candy. Go wild with it!
Let There Be CHOCOLATE!
I would never leave out the chocoholics like myself. Here you go! Create the ultimate chocolate lover's dream cupcake with chocolate frosting and pieces of Hershey bar or your favorite chocolate bar. Easy and hopefully you could do a much cuter job than the hot mess AI gave me when I asked for this idea. I mean, I'd eat that but it's a tad... random.
The next idea features chocolate as well, but in moderation for those who may not be as cray over it as I am.
To Godiva For!
As one of my favorite Concrete Blonde songs says, "Everybody wants a box of chocolates and a long stemmed rose. Everybody knows!" Break up that traditional box of chocolates and put one piece atop each cupcake for an extra touch of sweetness without overdoing it.
My personal fave chocolate is Godiva. The AI image looks like one of those Dove pieces which would also be nice, but any ol' cheap box of assorted chocolates would do depending on your budget and availability.
Say It, Don't Spray It!
Bet you haven't heard that one in a while. The AI image generator I use pretty obviously doesn't know what "conversation hearts" are and I had a devil of a time getting this. I even had to do some photo editing to get it even close to what was in my head.
Separate a package of those Sweethearts by Spangler, I believe is the common brand, and place one or even a few or a bunch on top of your cupcakes. You can even pass one to that special someone with just the right message.
Let Them Eat... Cookies!
Cookie monsters like me will appreciate this one. Just shove in a cookie on top! Easy peasy and super cute. You can use those shortbread Valentine's Day heart cookies sprinkled with the colored sugar or any ol' kind of cookie you like. The round jelly filled I can't think of the name of right now would be totally cute.
The smaller, thinner Pepperidge Farms cookies would work really well as well as the Pirouette cookies that are like cookie sticks.
Seal It With a Kiss!
I saved my personal fave for last. Very simple but adorable in my humble opinion. Just plop a Kiss on top! A Hershey's Kiss, that is.
In my mind's eye is a rough idea for making the entire cupcake itself look like a giant Hershey's Kiss but I have no clue how to describe that to AI and I doubt it would get it remotely right anyway. If you have ideas on that one, please drop them in the comments.
I know these aren't the most killer creative cupcake decorating ideas in the world but hopefully it's a good jumping off point to inspire you in your own creations or some easy ideas to try out for fun.
Oh, I almost forgot to add this! I was thinking of designs using some of those Valentine's Day "picks" like Christmas decor things. With like the plastic glittery hearts and stuff, but I decided not to. You can never be sure plastics are food safe and nontoxic and it's not a great idea to incorporate inedible pieces if young children will be enjoying your cupcakes. Choking hazard at the very least. DuckDuckGo Search Assist has this to say about some additional edible decorating options: You can use edible sheets like icing sheets to cut designs from, use edible flowers, sprinkles and edible food-grade glitter to safely decorate cupcakes.
Check out that cute cupcake decorating kit! Subtle! Recipes below...
Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
Borrowed from Martha Stewart.
Martha's Pro Tip: Go the full eight minutes when creaming the butter and sugar—it helps incorporate air and will give these berry and cream cupcakes a light and fluffy texture.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons sour cream, room temperature
2 tablespoons good-quality strawberry jam
12 ounces strawberries, finely chopped, plus more thinly sliced, for topping
Lightly sweetened whipped cream, for topping
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 8 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly between each addition, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with sour cream and beating until just incorporated.
Divide batter evenly among the tins using a 1/4 cup measure or ice cream scoop. Tap pans and smooth tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.
Whisk the jam in a small bowl until smooth. Fold in chopped strawberries. Using a melon baller or teaspoon, scoop out a hole in the center of each cupcake. Fill with 1 to 2 teaspoons strawberry filling. Top with whipped cream and a slice of strawberry or a whole strawberry. Serve immediately.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Did you know: Rufus Estes, a formerly enslaved chef and author from Tennessee published a recipe for Sweet Velvet Cake in his cookbook.
Ingredients
2 ½ cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (What is that fancy mess?)
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ teaspoon red gel-paste food color
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
Cream Cheese Frosting
Directions
Preheat oven, line muffin tins, and combine dry ingredients:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.
Whisk sugar and oil:
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined.
Add eggs one at a time, then food color and vanilla:
Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.
Add flour, alternating with buttermilk:
Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each.
Mix baking soda and vinegar and add:
Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.
Divide batter between prepared tins and bake:
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Cool:
Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
Frost cupcakes:
Use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting.
Martha says the gel paste food coloring is almost a must but many of the reviewers of the recipe said they just used whatever kind of food coloring they had on hand and they turned out fine. Thanks for reading!
Comments