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Hidden Heart Loaf Cake/ A Surprise Inside Cake

Hidden Heart Cake – a vanilla cake topped with chocolate ganache with a a hidden pink/ red heart that is revealed in every slice you cut.
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine global vegetarian
Servings 12 serving

Ingredients
  

For the Red Heart Cake :

  • 150 g unsalted butter , softened
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 tsps baking powder
  • 2 tsps cocoa powder (optional)
  • 3/4 cup ground almonds finely
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • red food colouring A little
  • 1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract

For the Vanilla Cake :

  • 150 g unsalted butter , softened
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 tsps baking powder
  • 3/4 cup ground almonds finely
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract

For the Chilli Chocolate Ganache :

  • 150 ml cream (25% fat)
  • 1 cup dark chocolate finely chopped
  • 1 cup milk chocolate finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
  • Chocolate curls and silver dragees for decoration

Instructions
 

  • First make the Red Heart Cake. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl till fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Sift together the flour, baking powder and the cocoa powder, if using, fold it in the mixture in the bowl along with the powdered almonds (powdered whole almonds are fine). Fold these in. Mix together the milk, the vanilla extract and the red food colouring in a small bowl. Mix this into the batter till even and no streaks of red are seen.
  • Pour the batter into a well-greased loaf tin (I used a 3 1/2" x 8 1/2" loaf tin) and bake at 180C (350F) for about an hour or till the cake is cooked and a skewer comes out of the cake clean. Cool the cake in the tin for about 10 minutes and gently unmould it. Cool completely on a rack.
  • Place the cake in the freezer for about 20 to 30 minutes. This makes it easier to slice the cake neatly. Slice the cake evenly into slices which are about an inch thick each. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter (or any shape of your choice) and cut out a heart out of each slice. You can refrigerate the cake hearts till you're ready to make your Vanilla Cake.
  • Make sure that the heart shaped cutter fits into your loaf tin. You want to use a cutter that will give you heart shaped slices that are about 2/3rd the height of the loaf pan. Save the cake scraps to use for something else, maybe a trifle, truffles or cake pops.
  • Now make the Vanilla Cake in the same way as the first cake. The only difference is that you don't need to add the red food colour and the cocoa powder. Once the batter is mixed, put about 2/3rd the batter into a well-greased loaf tin (same size as earlier). Then place the red coloured heart cake slices packed together in the batter in the middle, along the length of the loaf tin. Push them lightly from the top so the bottoms almost touch the bottom of the tin. Spoon the remaining batter on the top, covering the hearts and smoothen.
  • Bake as for the first cake. This cake might need a little less time to bake than the first one. Check if it is done by inserting the skewer along the side of the cake. Again, cool the cake in the tin for about 10 minutes and then un mould gently. Let it cool completely on a rack.
  • Make the Chilli Chocolate Ganache by heating the cream in a pan. Don't bring it to a boil. Add the chopped chocolate and the chilli powder and stir. Take the pan off the heat and continue to stir till the chocolate has dissolved completely and the Ganache is mooth. Let it cool. Then cover the cake with the Gananche. Decorate with chocolate curls and silver dragees. Refrigerate so the Gananche sets. Slice and serve. This cake should keep refrigerated for about 3 days.