This Love Heart Loaf Cake has a luscious chocolate cake with a hidden love heart centre. Chocolate Buttercream, Chocolate Geometric Hearts and freeze-dried strawberries because I am a little obsessed with them at the moment.

I have been so excited to share this recipe with you. I mean just look at it! This is also the first load cake I have shared on my blog and I am so glad I am starting with this one.

If you want to check out some other Valentine’s Day treats why not try my Chocolate & Strawberry Cupcakes.

Geometric Hearts

Okay, so these are completely optional. If you don’t want to make them just skip ahead to the pink love heart cake section.

These geometric hearts have been everywhere recently and these ones I originally seen and feel in love with on Iced Jems Facebook Page. After I seen there post I immediately bough the geometric heart mould, lustre dust and a dusting brush to make them.

Love Heart Ombre Cake

Kripsy Kreme Cake

Vegan Chocolate Cake

I made the chocolate hearts using dark chocolate. You could make them milk if you or white chocolate, just head down to the alternative section for the instructions.

You can also make these with a cake or cookie centre but I decided to make them solid chocolate to match the chocolate cake.

How do I Temper Chocolate?

I would recommend making these the night before you intend to make the loaf cake to give the chocolate enough time to set.

To make these you need to temper the chocolate first. Don’t worry it isn’t as difficult as it sounds all you need to do is bring a pan of water to a simmer. Break up the chocolate into small chunks and add three quarters of it to the heatproof bowl. Set your bowl over the pan and make sure the water isn’t touching the bottom.

Stir the chocolate continuously until it melts to 48C. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate. Stir the chocolate until it reaches 27C. Place the bowl back onto the pan of simmering water and reheat the chocolate to 31C. Pour the chocolate into your moulds and smooth the tops.

Place in the fridge to set over night. Once the hearts are completely set remove from the moulds and pop them on a flat tray. Dust them with the lustre dust and leave to one side.

Pink Love Heart Loaf Cake

To make the love heart cake I started by lining my loaf tin with butter and parchment paper and leaving o one side. Next, I creamed together the butter and sugar until it was pale and creamy. Then adding in the flour, eggs, vanilla and baking powder and mixing until they are completely incorporated and smooth.

Add in the food colouring gradually. I use Pro Gel. The best way is to add a little food colouring at a time and mix. Repeat this until you reach the desired colour. Pour the mixture into your pre-prepared load tin and bake in the oven until a skewer entered into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin.

Once your cake has completely cooled cut off the edges of the sponge, then score marks along the top of the cake the same thickness as your cookie cutter. Cut the sponge into slices following the score lines and then use your heart shaped cutter to cut out hearts from each piece. Place them on a flat baking tray and leave to one side.

Chocolate Cake

To make the chocolate cake first line your load tin with baking parchment and leave to one side.

Just as you did with the previous cake start by creaming together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix until they are completely combined. Now pour some of the mixture into the bottom of your loaf tin around 2-3cm high.

Set your heart shaped pink cake into the centre in a neat row. Leave a small gap around 1cm at the front and back of the loaf tin.

Fill the tin with the rest of the chocolate cake mixture. Ensuring that the love hearts are completely hidden. Remember and fill the gaps at the front and back of the loaf tin with chocolate mixture.

Bake in the oven for the same out of time as your pink cake around 45-50 minutes or until your skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Leave to cool fully in the tin.

Chocolate Buttercream

To make the buttercream, in a heatproof bowl melt the chocolate in the microwave for 20-second bursts stirring in between until it is completely melted.

In a separate bowl mix together the icing sugar and butter until combined. Add in the melted chocolate and mix again.

If the buttercream is too thick add 1tbsp of milk at a time and mix in between each addition until it reaches the desired consistency.

Add the buttercream to your piping bag. I use these piping bags and a 1M Piping Tip.

Putting It All Together

Remove your cake from the loaf tin and pop it onto your serving plate. Pipe the buttercream on top of your cake. I piped it on in horizontal lines but you could do any pattern on top.

Sprinkles over your freeze-dried strawberries or sprinkles and finish with geometric hearts.

Alternatives

To make white or milk chocolate hearts is exactly the same as making dark chocolate hearts only the temperatures are slightly different. Break up the chocolate into small chunks and add three quarters of it to the heatproof bowl. Set your bowl over the pan and make sure the water isn’t touching the bottom.

Stir the chocolate continuously until it melts to 40C. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate. Stir the chocolate until it reaches 27C. Place the bowl back onto the pan of simmering water and reheat the chocolate to 29C. Pour the chocolate into your moulds and smooth the tops.

To make cake or cookie geometric hearts you want to start by tempering your chocolate as above now place a small amount of chocolate in the moulds until they are thinly coated with chocolate. Pop the in the fridge until set. Once the first layer has set re-temper your chocolate add a second coat again pop that in the fridge to set.

Add in your leftover cake batter and re-temper your chocolate for a final time. Smooth the chocolate over the top of your cake mixture and again pop in the fridge to set. Remove from the fridge and decorate.

Equipment

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