Chocolate Heart Cakes
Whether it be a romantic night for two or a gift for a loved one, these decadent chocolate heart cakes are perfect for any occasion celebrating love.
What better way to celebrate the day of love than with individual chocolate heart cakes that are covered in a beautiful and shiny chocolate ganache? Share this dessert over a romantic dinner for two, or package them up as gifts for loved ones. There is no wrong way to enjoy this festive dessert, and the best part is they are relatively easy to make, requiring ingredients and tools that are often found at home.
What Makes These Chocolate Heart Cakes Special?
Like petit fours, these chocolate heart cakes feel special and elegant, especially when topped with sprinkles or fresh flowers. But what exactly makes these mini cakes special? Firstly, the cake crumb has the perfect texture, which is the most important part of creating a cake recipe. Secondly, the cake calls for espresso powder, which elevates the chocolate, and gives the cake warmth and depth. Lastly, and arguably most special, is the chocolate ganache, coating the hearts with an even layer of chocolate, giving a delightful sheen and gloss to the cakes. Together, the cake and the icing make a decadent pairing, that is perfect for the month of February or any day celebrating love.
How To Make Chocolate Heart Cakes
There are a few steps to make these chocolate heart cakes, but the best part is none are particularly difficult.
1.) First, the cake is made. As with most of my cakes, the butter and sugar are fluffed for a full four minutes. The eggs are added one at a time, and the batter is finished by alternating the buttermilk and chocolate mixture with the dry ingredients. The cake is baked in a 9x13 pan, making the width of the cake perfect for cutouts.
2.) Once the cake is baked and cooled for about ten minutes, the cake is then turned over onto a wire rack. Let the cake fully cool before cutting out the heart shapes. This is the fun part! A small heart shaped cutter will yield more cakes, whereas a larger heart shaped cutter will yield less—it’s your choice! Place the cutout hearts on a wire rack fitted inside a rimmed cookie sheet—this will keep the icing contained when it’s poured over, making less mess and cleanup.
3.) Make the chocolate ganache. Using a medium saucepan, heat the heavy cream and corn syrup over medium low heat. Let cream come to just a simmer—not boiling—and pour over chopped chocolate. Cover and let sit three minutes. Once stirred and smooth, pour the chocolate ganache over the prepared heart cutouts, fully covering each heart cake. Let the icing set before sliding a spatula underneath the cakes to release them from the wire rack, about an hour.
Final Tips
·Always use room temperature eggs and dairy when baking cakes. For more information as to “why”, look to my blog post, here. In regards to this recipe, the only ingredients that need to be brought to room temperature are the butter and eggs. Normally this includes buttermilk, but since the buttermilk is added to the hot water and cocoa mixture, bringing it to room temperature is unnecessary.
Spoon and level the two flours for the most accurate measurement. More information on this topic can be found here. Using too much flour causes dense and dry desserts. When helping others troubleshoot recipes gone wrong, my first question is always, “how did you measure the flour?” Dipping the measuring cup into the flour haphazardly will add more flour into recipe—more than realized. The simple modification of spoon and leveling flour can transform desserts from dry and boring to moist and bright.
Don’t forget to line the 9x13 pan with parchment paper! This will make turning out the cake so much easier. I usually grease the entire pan with butter or shortening, and then cut out a square to line the bottom of the pan—it will stick nicely since the pan is greased. Once baked, the cake will pull away from the side of the pan, so it isn’t necessary to line the sides of the pan with parchment, the bottom will suffice. A knife can be used to slide across the edge of the pan as well, to ensure the cake will release once turned over onto a wire rack.
Ideas For Leftover Cake & Icing
Since the 9x13 pam is cut into hearts, there is inevitably leftover cake that doesn’t get used. Similarly, when the icing is poured over the cakes, the run off collects at the bottom of the sheet pan. What can be done to eliminate waste—especially since the waste is so tasty? A few ideas come to mind! Cake pops can be made with the leftover crumbs or when placed in a jar, the cake crumbs, alternating with chocolate pudding, makes for a delicious cake parfait. For the icing, it is delicious spooned over any ice cream, making the ultimate sundae or banana split.
Chocolate Heart Cakes
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup salted butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup hottest tap water
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips, or chopped bittersweet chocolate bars
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- Optional Topping: Chocolate or Rainbow Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line one 9X13 inch pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 4 minutes. Drizzle the oil into the bowl on medium speed. Once incorporated, turn the mixer back to medium-high speed for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time, briefly mixing batter on medium-low speed until smooth and scraping the bowl after each egg addition. Add vanilla and briefly mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, using a fine mesh sieve, sift the flour, baking soda and salt. Spoon and level the flour for an accurate measurement.
- Add hot water, cocoa powder and espresso powder into a glass measuring cup and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Add buttermilk and stir until mixed.
- Alternating between the dry ingredients and the buttermilk mixture, add a third of the flour mixture into the mixing bowl on low speed. Immediately follow with half of the buttermilk mixture, followed by another third of the flour mixture and the second half of the buttermilk mixture. Finish with the remaining flour mixture. The mixer should be kept on low speed, so the flour and buttermilk mixture do not splash out of the bowl. Scrape the bowl, making sure any dry ingredients trapped at the bottom are brought to the top. After scraping, turn the mixer up to medium speed for just a few seconds ensuring the batter is fully mixed and smooth.
- Pour batter evenly into the prepared pan and place into oven. Start assessing your cake at 30 minutes. It could take up to 35 minutes or more to cook depending on your oven's temperature. When a toothpick inserted comes out clean, the cake is done. Cool pan for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the pan, and turning out the cake. Place cake on wire rack to finish cooling.
- Once cool, using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut the cake into as many heart shapes as the cake yields. Lay the cut out pieces on a wire rack placed inside a rimmed cookie sheet. This way, when the icing is poured on the cakes, the chocolate will coat the hearts and the runoff will fall into the tray making for less mess and clean up.
- Place chopped chocolate into a large bowl and set aside.
- Using a medium saucepan, heat the heavy cream and corn syrup on medium low, stirring frequently.
- Once the mixture is steaming and just starting to simmer, but not boiling, remove from heat and pour over chocolate. Cover and let sit 3 minutes.
- Add vanilla and stir ganache until smooth. If chocolate is too thick, add a small amount of cream, stirring and adding, until the desired consistency is reached. Use a gentle hand here.
- Pour over the prepped heart cakes, aiming to cover the entire cake with ganache. If covering with sprinkles, this doesn't need to be meticulous, as the sprinkles will cover any imperfections in the ganache layer.
- To finish, if desired, cover each heart with sprinkles, getting the top and sides, as pictured. This should be done before the chocolate has set. Allow chocolate to set before using a metal spatula to transfer and serve.
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