Recipe Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup M&M’S Milk Chocolate Cupid’s Mix, divided
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup chopped dried cherries
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 24 fresh pitted or maraschino cherries

Directions:

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour (+ 10 minutes standing time)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease 24 mini (1-1/2 inch) heart-shaped mini cake pans or molds. Dust with 1 tbsp cocoa powder; set aside. Chop half of the M&M’S; reserve and set aside.
3. In large bowl, whisk together remaining cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg, egg yolk and vanilla until blended; whisk into flour mixture until smooth. Fold in chopped M&M’S and dried cherries.
4. Drop tablespoonfuls of batter evenly into each mold; bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes; transfer to rack and let cool completely.
5. Using electric mixer, beat cream, icing sugar and almond extract for about 2 minutes or until stiff peaks start to form.
6. Top each cake bite with dollop of whipped cream. Garnish with remaining M&M’S; top with whole cherries.

Tips:

• Substitute frozen cherries for dried cherries if preferred.
• If you don’t have heart-shaped mini cake pans, bake cake in rimmed baking sheet, adjusting baking time as needed. Let cool completely; cut out shapes using heart-shaped cookie cutters. Alternatively, simply bake in mini or regular muffin pans.
  
  Nutrition Facts

Per 1 cake bite

• Calories 140
• Fat 7g
• Saturated Fat 2.5g
• Cholesterol 25mg
• Sodium 65mg
• Carbohydrate 17g
• Fiber 1g
• Sugars 12g
• Protein 2g