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I don’t remember the last time I went out on Valentine’s Day. It’s been a good few years, and me and Husband have never been out for a romantic valentines meal.
I mean, we might have taken the kids for a Nando’s lunch or something at some point, but that’s about it.
We don’t do gifts either. We do mark the day, with a card and husband will cook us a nice meal at home.
Usually a steak and a nice bottle of wine. We might also buy a new film to watch. So it’s special to us. But not in a big overdone romancing way.
I do however like an excuse to bake something. Any excuse really, Valentine’s, Christmas, Easter, Tuesdays.
More so if it’s something chocolate. Last year I made valentines brownies and cookies, this year I went for this Chocolate Heart Surprise Cake.
Fail
Not going to lie, my first Chocolate Surprise Heart Cake didn’t even make it into the oven.
The middle bit just didn’t work at all. I’d tried to use a regular red food
Like cake. I’d also failed to make enough batter, so there wasn’t enough heart to support itself in the
Nor was there enough chocolate to cover even the pitiful amount of heart. We salvaged the chocolate batter and made cupcakes.
Roses are Red…hearts are brown?!
To get a bright heart
I use a 9inch by 4-inch cake tin and a heart cutter that’s around 2-3 inches tall. You can make it work with whatever you’ve got though, just make more or less batter. Save any leftovers for cupcakes.
I really want to say save the cut-offs of the red for cake pops or something equally
Chocolate and Raspberry?
I top my Chocolate Heart Surprise Cake with
I kept the heart plan, and the
If you want more, double the recipe. If there’s any left, it freezes really well in an airproof container.
It’s Not that Hard, Promise
This is one of those bakes that looks a lot more complicated than it is. But, it’s really not.
All you need is a freezer, a heart cookie cutter, and some patience. I struggle with the patience part, but the longer that you leave your hearts to freeze, the better it will all cook together. You need at least 2 hours I’d say.
Chocolate Heart Surprise Cake
Ingredients
For the heart:
- 170 g Butter or Margarine
- 170 g Caster Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 170 g Self-Raising Flour
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla essence
- Red Food Colouring (Use good quality and add a few drops at a time)
For the Chocolate Cake:
- 220 g Butter or Margarine
- 220 g Caster Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 190 g Self-Raising Flour
- 30 g Cocoa
For the Buttercream:
- 100 g Butter (at room temp)
- 200 g Icing Sugar
- 4 tablespoons Cocoa Powder
- 100 g Milk chocolate (Broken into squares)
Instructions
To make the heart:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and lightly grease your loaf tin.
- Cream together the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating in well before adding the next, then stir in the vanilla.
- Sift in the flour and fold until the mixture is smoother.
- Add food colouring a few drops at a time until the mix is a vibrant red.
- Pour the mix into your loaf tin and bake in the oven for 50 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked, using a skewer to test the centre.
- When cooked remove from the oven and leave for 5 minutes.
- After this, tip on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
- Chop the two ends off and discard.
- Chop the rest of the cake into 6 thick, even slices.
- Use the heart cookie cutter to gently press shapes out of the cake slices, discarding the edges.
- Either wrap each slice in foil, or place them flat, and separate, into freezer bags.
- Freeze for at least two hours.
For the chocolate cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, wash and grease the same loaf tin.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Sift in the flour and cocoa.
- Fold together until smooth.
- Generously line the bottom and sides of the cake tin with the chocolate batter, ensuring there’s plenty left to top.
- Remove the hearts from the freezer and gently stand them on top of the chocolate bottom, close enough together that they can stand, I find it easier to start with the middle slice and add one each side of it until all gone, try to line them up as evenly as you can.
- Cover with the rest of the chocolate cake mix.
- Bake in the oven for around 40 minutes until cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and leave for five minutes.
- Tip on to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the buttercream top:
- In a small saucepan over a medium heat, melt the chocolate gently, and leave to one side to cool.
- Beat the butter until soft.
- Add the icing sugar and cocoa and continue to beat until smooth.
- Tip the melted chocolate into the buttercream and fold in until smooth.
- Spread or pipe onto the cooled cake.
- Top with sprinkles or decorations if required.
Notes
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
