Description
Chocolate lovers will adore this hidden heart chocolate loaf cake that reveals a sweet surprise when sliced. Rich chocolate batter conceals a crimson heart center, delighting guests with its unexpected romantic design. You’ll treasure each delectable bite.
Ingredients
Scale
- 175 g (1 ½ cups) self-raising flour (pink heart sponge)
- 175 g (1 ½ cups) self-raising flour (chocolate loaf)
- 175 g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened (pink heart sponge)
- 175 g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened (chocolate loaf)
- 3 large eggs (pink heart sponge)
- 3 large eggs (chocolate loaf)
- 175 g (¾ cup) caster sugar (pink heart sponge)
- 150 g (¾ cup) caster sugar (chocolate loaf)
- 35 g (⅓ cup) cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tbsps milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (pink heart sponge)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (buttercream)
- Pink gel food coloring
- 100 g (7 tbsps) unsalted butter, softened
- 200 g (1 ½ cups) icing sugar
- 50 g (1 ¾ oz) dark chocolate, melted and cooled
- ½ tbsps milk
- Heart-shaped sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Preheating: Warm the oven to 180C (160C fan) or 350F and meticulously line a 2lb loaf tin with grease and parchment paper.
- Creaming: Whip softened butter and caster sugar until the mixture becomes light, fluffy, and develops a pale, creamy consistency.
- Egg Integration: Gradually add eggs one at a time, thoroughly blending each into the butter-sugar mixture to create a smooth, homogeneous batter.
- Flavor Enhancement: Introduce vanilla extract and pink gel food coloring, stirring carefully to distribute the aromatic essence and achieve a uniform rosy hue.
- Flour Incorporation: Fold self-raising flour into the wet ingredients using delicate sweeping motions, maintaining the batter’s lightness and preventing a dense texture.
- Baking: Pour the pink-tinted batter into the prepared tin, spreading evenly, and bake for 50 minutes until golden brown. Test doneness with a clean-emerging skewer.
- Cooling: Remove from the oven and let the cake rest momentarily in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving or decorating.
Notes
- Prevent Color Bleeding: Use gel food coloring sparingly and mix thoroughly to avoid uneven pink tones or color streaks throughout the cake.
- Maintain Batter Lightness: Fold flour gently with a spatula using figure-eight motions to preserve air bubbles, ensuring a soft, tender cake texture.
- Check Moisture Balance: Test cake’s doneness with a clean skewer – if it comes out with just a few moist crumbs, the cake is perfectly baked and won’t dry out.
- Temperature Control Matters: Let cake cool completely before cutting to prevent crumbling and maintain the structural integrity of the hidden heart design.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 435
- Sugar: 41 g
- Sodium: 100 mg
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated Fat: 15 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 95 mg