Chocolate heart cake recipe

This easy one bowl chocolate heart shaped cake is rich,

moist and absolutely irresistible. It is pure love in a cake.

chocolate heart cake with red decoration

Chocolate as you may know is called the ”happiness or love drug”; and what better way to say I love you, than with a chocolate rich heart shaped cake.

This  love cake is so easy to prepare and all you need is- ONE BOWL!.

0h Yes!  One large bowl. No machines, just a whisk or your plain wooden spoon and no elbow grease.

Simply mix in all your ingredients, pour into your baking pan and viola! as easy an mess/stress free as that.

And talking about baking pans, even though I used a heart shaped baking pan for this cake, you can use a round or rectangle pan and cut out a heart shape ? from it .

For the chocolate cake, I decided to go for a cake that’s a cross between a pound cake and a sponge cake. Imagine a cake that is fluffy, but at the same time , moist and dense. yES,that’s what I’m talking about.

Even though most cakes often call for butter, I’ll be using plain vegetable oil for this chocolate cake. The reason is that oil makes the cake extra moist and fluffy even on the second and third day after baking. So DON’T substitute the oil for butter unless you want a denser cake, like this pound cake recipe.

And just in case you’re wondering why the cake is so shiny and glossy, I finished with a delicious yet easy to make chocolate ganache(I have two recipes for ganache; one made with chocolate and whipped cream and the other made from scratch with cocoa powder, milk, sugar and butter…I bet you want the recipe now, so let’s get down to it.)

Oh! I forgot to mention, the red round decoration you see on this cake is smarties(M&M, GOGO).. You know, those colored candies that you bought with all your savings as a kid (cough cough), yes those ones.

Okay here’s the chocolate heart cake recipe and also the recipe for the glossy chocolate ganache.

INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE HEART CAKE:
250 gram (2 cups) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
210 grams (1 cup) white granulated sugar
55 grams (1/2 cup) unsweetened dark cocoa powder(see notes below if using hersheys)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
85 ml(1/3 cup) vegetable oil
2 large eggs
180 ml (3/4 cup) milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
180ml (3/4 cup) boiling water mixed with
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder

Recipe Notes:
– INSTANT COFFEE POWDER is optional, but it brings out the intense CHOCOLATE flavor of the cocoa powder and it won’t really be tasted in the cake

– I USED a dark dutch process cocoa powder which is alkalinized, but if you have HERSHEY’S COCOA or the lighter natural cocoa powder which is acidic in nature, substitute 1 teaspoon of the baking powder in the recipe with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda . This helps to neutralize the acid in the cocoa powder and give the cake a good rise.

– WHEN BAKING let the cake bake for 10 mins in 150ºC and then increase the temperature to 170ºC. THis way the cake doesn’t burn on the sides while the middle is still raw. And also cover the top with aluminum foil if it starts to darken a lot before it’s cooked.

– BE AWARE that the cake might crack a bit at the top when it’s ready, but that’s okay. Simple flip it over when it is cooled completely and frost or ice the flatter bottom side.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE WITH CHOCOLATE AND CREAM:
250 ml cup heavy whipping cream
250 grams semi sweet or dark chocolate(chopped into tiny bit or in chips)

This one is QUICK and easy. Simply heat up the whipping cream in a saucepan until hot enough(just as soon as you see some light bubbles), add the chocolate. Let it sit covered for 5 minutes, then stir gently until all the chocolate is completely dissolved.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE WITH COCOA POWDER(no cream , no chocolate):

-1/2 cup milk(118ml ml )
-3/4 cup or powdered sugar (or granulated sugar + 1 teaspoon corn flour)
-1/2 cup cocoa powder
-1/3 cup unsalted butter( 5 tbsp) (70 g)

Pour milk into a saucepan on low heat
Add the powdered sugar
(or granulated sugar + 1 teaspoon corn flour),
add the cocoa powder and mix until dissolved
Mix and add the unsalted butter
keep stirring until it is well incorporated and thickens
let the mixture cool and use

WATCH VIDEO ON HOW TO MAKE THIS CHOCOLATE CAKE AND CHOCOLATE GANACHE

HOW TO MAKE THE HEART CHOCOLATE CAKE:

-Have all your ingredients measured out then, preheat oven to 150ºC (302ºF). Lightly grease and flour an 9-inch heart cake or round cake with butter ora non stick cooking oil spray. Also line the base with baking/parchment paper for easy release.

-Now combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, the baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together until well combined .

-Add the vegetable oil, eggs, the milk and vanilla and beat for about 20 seconds to combine.

-Gradually pour in the boiling water or the coffe solution, and mix until well cobined, that is, it should be thin and runny in consistency.

-Gently pour the cake batter into the already prepared cake pan.

-Slam it gently on the counter to remove air bubbles and staright into the preheated oven it goes.

-After about 10 mins increase the oven temperature to 170ºC, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a skewer dipped into the cake comes out with a small bit cake crumbs but not wet and raw.

-Take out of the oven and leave to cool for about 20 minutes. If you notice that the top of the cake is going down, simply turn in facedown unto a wire rack and leave to cool completely while you prepare the ganache.

T0 DECORATE THE CAKE

Place a wire rack unto a tray , this will help to catch the dripping ganache.

Place the cake on the wire rack and pour the cooled chocolate ganache over the top of the cake and let it fall on the sides of the cake.
I like to use a ”lazy suzan turn table” to spin the cake as I pour, but you can do without that. Using a large spatula, spread the ganache to get an even coat if needed.
Let the coated cake set on the table or in the refrigerator, then decorate as you wish.

Serves about 8-10 people.

Chocolate heart cake recipe

Yield: 8 - 10

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Additional Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

This easy one bowl chocolate heart shaped cake is rich, irresistible and of course chocolatey. It’s pure love in a cake.

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Ingredients

• 250 gram (2 cups) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
• 210 grams (1 cup) white granulated sugar
• 55 grams (1/2 cup) unsweetened dark cocoa powder(see notes below if using hersheys)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 85 ml(1/3 cup) vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 180 ml (3/4 cup) milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 180ml (3/4 cup) boiling water mixed with
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 150ºC (302ºF). Lightly grease and flour a 9-inch heart cake or round cake with butter or a non stick cooking oil spray. Also line the base with baking/parchment paper for easy release.

Now combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, the baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together until well combined .

Add the vegetable oil, eggs, the milk and vanilla and beat for about 20 seconds to combine.

Gradually pour in the boiling water or the coffee solution, and mix until well combined, that is, it should be thin and runny in consistency.

Gently pour the cake batter into the already prepared cake pan.

Slam it gently on the counter to remove air bubbles and transfer into the preheated oven.

After about 10 mins increase the oven temperature to 170ºC, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a skewer dipped into the cake comes out with small bits of cake crumbs but not wet and raw.

Take cake out of the oven and leave to cool for about 20 minutes. Turn facedown unto a wire rack and leave to cool completely while you prepare the ganache.

Notes

- INSTANT COFFEE POWDER is optional, but it brings out the intense CHOCOLATE flavor of the cocoa powder and it won't really be tasted in the cake

- I USED a dark dutch process cocoa powder which has been alkalinized, but if you have hersheys or the lighter natural cocoa powder which is acidic in nature, substitute 1 teaspoon of the baking powder in the recipe with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda .

- WHEN BAKING let the cake bake for 10 mins in 150ºC and then increase the temperature to 170ºC. THis way the cake doesnt burn on the sides while the middle is still raw. And also cover the top with aluminum doil if it starts to darken a lot before it's cooked.

- BE AWARE that the cake might crack a bit at the top when it's ready, but that's okay. Simple flip it over when it is cooled completely and frost or ice the flatter bottom side.