Valentine's Red Velvet & Mascarpone cake shooter

If you are like me always running around like a chicken with her head cut off then this super easy dessert will make you look like a queen tomorrow when you have to surprise your husband, boyfriend, partner, kiddos..whoever you want to make this delicious treat for!

My husband and I stay in for Valentines and we choose to have a nice dinner with our kiddos and celebrate our love for each other in our family. They love to be involved in the festivities and many times they surprise us with some nice treats or they even cook dinner for us. 

This dessert is the final touch to your dinner tomorrow or perfect to bring for any party you might have. Red Velvet is one of my favorite cakes i make from scratch but it can be a little tedious sometimes so i choose to make your life much easier and give you a recipe that i'm sure with or without baking skills you will be able to make it happen.As you know i love to reuse things around my home and try to stay in a budget for these kind of holidays, I don't need to break the bank to make something nice so the glass jars i used for this dessert and that I also use on my parfaits when i have brunches are the "oui" yogurt cups. They come in this gorgeous little jar that I save after we eat the yogurt. It's a win win for sure!

Going back to the cake, the best pairing for red velvet, in my opinion is a cream cheese icing. I'm very picky about cream cheese icings because they tend to be too sweet or too thick so this is a spin off on it using smooth mascarpone cheese and making it airy and with a mousse texture by adding whipped cream. Without further due:

Valentine's Red Velvet and Mascarpone Cake Shooter:

Ingredients: for 8 shooters

- 1 box of red velvet cake mix of your preference (follow the directions on the cake mix box and make it in a pan where you will be able to cut small squares after baked like the picture below)

- 8oz container of mascarpone cheese

- 1 cup of heavy whipping cream

- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar

- 8 medium size strawberries

- 1 cup of dark chocolate chips (to melt)

- 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips (to melt)

- small glass jars, ramekins, mason jars. I use the OUI yogurt glass jars that I save for these type of desserts.

Directions:

- Follow the directions on your red velvet cake mix box to make one layer pan. bake it and let it cool off.

- On a mixing bowl add the mascarpone cheese and whisk it until soft. Sometimes mascarpone tends to break and get grainy so doing it by hand with a whisk or even spoon will be best until its soft.

- In a mixer, whip the cup of heavy cream until it starts forming small peaks, then add the 1/2 cup of sugar and beat it until it has whipped cream texture. It is going to taste very sweet but once you mis it with the mascarpone cheese will be just perfect.

- Ad  2 spoonfuls of whip cream to the mascarpone cheese and mix them until it becomes softer and start adding more of the whipped cream and fold it into that mixture until it has the texture of a fluffy cream.

- On the side, melt both of your chocolate in separate bowls in the microwave for about 1 minute each (make sure you don't over heat or the chocolate will break), and dip your strawberries on the dark chocolate and rest them on some wax paper. Once they are completely set, drizzle the white chocolate on top and make whatever design of your preference.

- Cut the layer of red velvet cake in squares big enough to set on the glass jars or container of your choice. Start assembling your cake shooter by placing a layer of red velvet cake on the bottom, add a spoonful of the mascarpone mix, another layer of cake and one more spoonful of mascarpone mix. On top, lay your chocolate covered strawberry and that's it! Doesn't get any easier than this friends...only few ingredients and a delicious treat that will make you look like an expert! Hope you have a great Valentine's Day with the loves in your life and make sure to tag me on Instagram @oak.hill.farms if you make this! I would love to see your results :)

XOXO

Carla