insideKENT Magazine Issue 47 - February 2016 | Page 72

FOOD+DRINK
How Sweet It Is… cont.
Heart Shaped Chocolate Box Cake

Ingredients
• 50g cocoa powder
• 200ml boiling water
• 100ml full fat milk
• 115g self raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g golden caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
Raspberry buttercream:
• 50g fresh raspberries
• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• 250g icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2tbsp milk
To decorate
• 450g dark chocolate, callets or finely chopped
• 450g milk chocolate, callets or finely chopped
• Truffles or decoration of your choice
You will need:
• One slate slab (you can buy slate placemats
for £10), placed in freezer for two hours

Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease and line
three 25cm round sandwich cake tins and two
25cm heart-shaped baking tins.
Place the cocoa powder into a heatproof bowl.
Pour the water into the cocoa and stir until
smooth, leave to cool slightly before adding the
milk. Stir to combine.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking
powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light
and fluffy. Add the sugar gradually and cream
for another 5 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for one
minute between each addition.
Gently add half the flour and mix in until just
combined, add half the cocoa mixture then
repeat. Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared
heart shaped tins.
Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or
until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre
comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack to
cool completely.
For the buttercream:
Use a fork to mash the raspberries and set aside.
Beat the butter until smooth and creamy, add
the sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy.
Beat in the vanilla. Add the raspberries and beat
until combined. Beat in the milk.

Level the cooled cake, place the bottom layer
onto a cake board or stand and spread a thick
layer of buttercream over it. Place the middle
layer on top and repeat, spread a thin layer of
buttercream over the top and then the sides of
the cake covering completely. This is your crumb
coat and will be covered in fondant. Set aside
any remaining buttercream.
To decorate:
Using a pencil, trace round the heart, the outline
of your cake tin onto some parchment paper.
Now draw a second outline about a centimetre
outside the first outline. Cut round the outside
edge with scissors and set aside.
Melt the chocolate and pour half onto a sheet
of parchment paper and spread thinly and evenly
into a rectangle. Leave to set.
Once completely set place the outline of the
heart onto it and use a sharp knife to cut the
outline onto the chocolate. Spread a small
amount of buttercream onto a cake stand or
cake board and place this large heart over it to
form the base of the cake. Spread another small
amount of buttercream onto the chocolate and
place the crumb coated cake over it. Set aside.
Now cut the inside outline of the heart and repeat
onto the set chocolate. Place on the top side of
the cake.
Remelt any excess chocolate and add to the
remaining melted chocolate.

72

Remove the slate mat from the freezer and pour
some of the chocolate onto the mat. Spread the
chocolate out thickly and evenly with a tapered
palette knife. Allow the chocolate to harden until
it feels dry to the touch, this will happen quite
quickly.
Trim the edges of the chocolate with the palette
knife and scrape them away. Quickly cut a long
strip about 7cm wide. The strip should be around
2cm wider than the depth of the cake. The
chocolate will not yet be completely hardened
and should be easy to bend gently but will set
quickly.
Stick the palette knife under the chocolate at a
slight angle. Lift the chocolate strip while it is still
flexible and working quickly bend the strip around
one side of the cake, starting from the bottom
point of the heart cake and finishing in the top
centre.
At this point you will need to remelt the remaining
chocolate left on the slate mat and repeat for
the other side of the cake. You will now have a
beautiful chocolate box cake to place all of your
truffles into.

Recipes extracted from CHOCOLATE by
Molly Bakes, published by Square Peg.
Photography © Georgia Glynn Smith
www.mollybakes.co.uk