Hello lovelies,
A hidden cake within a cake? I don’t know who or where that idea came from but it’s bloody genius!
These cakes have been plastered across my Pinterest homepage for a while now and i have never attempted one before so I thought it was about time i got my baking gear together and gave it a whirl.
So, after a long old scroll through all different recipes to get an idea together on how I even begin to attempt one of these cakes, I came across a hidden heart loaf cake made by one of my favourite food bloggers @thebakingexplorer or formally known as Kat!
Blog: https://thebakingexplorer.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebakingexplorer?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Kat is one incredibly talented baker therefore, when I saw her loaf cake, I knew I was in safe hands when following her recipe.
Can we take a moment for how perfect this cake is for valentines! I mean, who doesn’t love a gorgeous chocolate loaf? I’d say that alone would go down a treat with a loved one BUT the added surprise of a bright pink hidden heart in the centre… let’s just say, you’ll be sweeping them right off their feet!
So, if your wanting to create a hidden heart within a delicious chocolate loaf cake, then keep on reading below:
Category: Sweet Treat
Serves: 8-10 Slices
Prep Time: 45 Minutes
Cook Time: 50 Minutes Per Cake
Decorating Time: 15 Minutes
Overall Time: 2 Hours, 20 Minutes
Ingredients You Need For Pink Loaf:
- 175g Of Butter / Stork
- 175g Of Caster Sugar
- 3 Large Eggs
- 2tsp Of Vanilla Extract
- 175g Of Self-Raising Flour
- 2-3tsp Of Good Quality Pink Food Colouring
Ingredients You Need For Chocolate Loaf:
- 200g Of Butter/Stork
- 200g Of Caster Sugar
- 4 Large Eggs
- 1.5tbsp Of Whole / Semi-Skimmed Milk
- 170g Of Self-Raising Flour
- 30g Of Cocoa Powder
- 1/2tsp Of Baking Powder
Ingredients You Need For Chocolate Buttercream:
- 100g Of Unsalted Butter
- 200g Of Icing Sugar
- 1-2tbsp Of Milk
- 25g Of Cocoa Powder
- 2tsp Of Vanilla Extract
Ingredients You Need For Decorating:
- Handful Of Multi Coloured Heart Sprinkles
How To Make Pink Loaf:
- Firstly, gather together your equipment and ingredients, line a loaf tin with parchment paper and preheat the oven 180C / 160C Fan / Gas Mark 4.
- Secondly, in a large bowl, using an electric whisk, beat together the 175g of butter with 175g of caster sugar until lighter in colour and fluffy in texture.
- Next, one at a time, beating well between each addition, add the 3 large eggs and 2tsp of vanilla extract.
- Now, add in the 175g of self-raising flour and mix in until combined.
- Add in the 2-3tsp of good quality pink food colouring and mix using a wooden spoon until the entire cake batter is pink.
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf tin and place into the oven for around 50 minutes or until a skewer placed into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Once baked, take out the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes in the loaf tin before removing and transferring the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- When the cake has completely cooled, take a heart shaped cookie cutter (I used an extremely small heart cutter as that’s all I had to hand but you must make sure the heart cutter fits within the diameter of the loaf cake) and using a sharp knife, score marks across the top of the loaf cake which are the same thickness as your heart shaped cutter.
- Using the same knife, cut the loaf cake into slices using the scored lines as guidance.
- Once all the slices have been cut, using your heart shaped cutter, cut out hearts from each of the slices of cake (TIP: depending on the size of your cutter and how many slices of cake you cut, will depend on how many hearts you are able to cut out. Due to me using a smaller cutter, I got a large amount of hearts).
- Set the hearts aside until later.
How To Make Chocolate Loaf:
- Now that the pink loaf cake has been prepared, cooked, cooled completely and the hearts have been cut out, it’s time to make the chocolate loaf.
- Firstly, re-line the loaf tin with parchment paper and set to one side.
- Secondly, in a large bowl, using an electric whisk, beat together the 200g of butter with the 200g of caster sugar until lighter in colour and fluffy in texture.
- Next, one at a time, beating well between each addition, add the 4 large eggs and 1.5tbsp of semi-skimmed milk.
- Now, using a spatula, add in the 170g of self-raising flour, 30g of cocoa powder and 1/2tsp of baking powder and fold in until fully combined.
- Add 1/4 of the chocolate cake batter into the bottom of the pre-lined loaf tin and smooth with a spoon.
- In the centre of the loaf cake, add as many of the pre-made pink loaf cake hearts as you possibly can, standing them upright, in a neat line running length ways (TIP: I didn’t leave any room between the hearts as this decreases the chance of the hearts moving/falling over whilst the chocolate cake is cooking).
- Pour the remaining chocolate loaf cake batter over the top of the hearts ensuring the batter fully encloses the pink hearts (TIP: you may find it easier to place the cake batter into a piping bag and pipe the batter over the hearts).
- When your happy with your loaf cake, place into the oven for around 50 minutes or until a skewer placed into the centre comes out clean.
- Take out the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 20-30 minutes before removing and transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.
How To Decorate Loaf Cake:
- When the loaf cake is nearly cooled, it’s time to make the buttercream.
- In a large bowl, using an electric whisk, beat the 100g of unsalted butter for a couple of minutes until it has loosened.
- Now, slowly add 200g of icing sugar, 25g of cocoa powder, 2tsp of vanilla extract and 2tbsp of milk to the loosened butter and beat together until a buttercream has formed.
- Place a star shaped nozzle into a piping bag and add the buttercream into the bag.
- Next, pipe your buttercream onto the top of the loaf cake until the top is well covered (TIP: I made little swirls covering the top of my cake but you can pipe the buttercream however you like).
- Sprinkle a handful of valentines heart sprinkles across the top of the buttercream.
- Finally, using a sharp knife, slice the chocolate loaf cake to reveal the hidden pink hearts.
That’s your Hidden Heart Chocolate Loaf Cake prepared, baked, assembled, baked again, decorated and ready for you enjoy!
Wanting to wow your partner? your pals? your family? Then this is the cake to do just that.
I’ll be honest, when I first saw these cakes going around on social media, I took one look at them and thought they looked pretty darn difficult to achieve. Well, that couldn’t of been further from the truth!
Thanks to Kat and her amazing step by step instructions, I was able to achieve the most incredible and utterly delicious loaf which was enjoyed by each of my loved ones.
{full credit for this recipe goes to Kat}
Let me know in the comments below if you give this loaf cake a go yourself and if so, what your thoughts are on it. How did you find the process? Are you impressed with the final result?
Sending you all tons of love & hugs as always,
Elle xo
