Today’s DIY project is sponsored by Sweet Estelle’s Baking Supply.
Long-time readers might have guessed I’d combine my love of donuts with my love of conversation hearts — and of course you were right. Last year I made conversation heart cakes; this year I turned them into donuts. These turned out adorable, tasty, and perfect for Valentine gifting (or keeping all to yourself). I teamed up with Sweet Estelle’s Baking Supply to make these; we had a blast creating them and you can too. Here’s how.
I love how they turned out — so sweet and playful!
Supplies you’ll need:
– A batch of your favorite donut dough and frosting recipe*
– Heart cookie cutter
– Cutting board
– Food coloring (a starter kit with small concentrated colors works well)
– Knife or icing spatula
– Plastic sandwich bag or small piping bag and tip
– Cute bags or boxes for packaging
*I used a classic fried donut recipe for these. It was my first time deep-frying donuts, and they turned out great — feel free to use your preferred dough recipe.
Make the donuts: Roll out your dough according to your recipe and cut hearts using the cookie cutter. Follow your recipe’s instructions for deep frying, but note that donut hearts cook a bit more slowly than ring donuts because there’s no hole in the center. Lower the frying temperature slightly and fry a little longer so the centers cook through; I reduced the heat a bit below the recipe temperature and extended the frying time. Let the hearts cool on a rack before decorating.
Frosting and colors: I used a thick powdered sugar frosting (about 2 cups powdered sugar to just over 1 tablespoon milk) rather than a thin glaze so the frosting would hold the writing. Divide the frosting into several small bowls for the colors you want. Conversation hearts use soft, pastel tones, so add food coloring sparingly — a tiny bit goes a long way. A toothpick dipped into the food coloring bottle and then stirred into the frosting lets you control intensity. For this batch I mixed pink, sky blue, orange, lemon yellow, mint green (a touch of teal), and violet. Use an icing spatula or knife to spread frosting evenly over each heart donut.
Write the messages: To create the classic conversation-heart phrases, mix up a small amount of frosting and tint it bright red for contrast. Transfer the red frosting into a sandwich bag, snip a very small corner, and use it as a piping bag. Practice piping a few words on parchment or a plate to get comfortable with the flow. Then carefully pipe short messages and phrases on each donut — keep the lettering simple and small so it fits the heart shape.
That’s it — conversation heart donuts! Let the piping set for a few minutes, then package each donut individually in pretty bags or boxes for gifting. They make excellent Valentine treats to share with friends, family, classmates, or coworkers — or to enjoy all by yourself.
All photos by Studio DIY
If you love conversation hearts, Sweet Estelle’s also sells conversation-heart cupcake toppers and other Valentine baking supplies to make decorating even easier. They’re perfect for DIY projects and party treats.
This DIY project is sponsored by Sweet Estelle’s Baking Supply. All content and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that keep the Studio DIY party going.