I am quite sure that this is a common
scenario in many homes…you are still reminiscing your new year’s eve party and hoping
that the new year will bring you happiness…and who comes knocking?
Valentine’s Day, of course. If you are like me, you will be scampering to
figure out what to make/buy for your valentine. Even though my husband and I
don’t fuss about this day, I still try and make something special. This cake was inspired by a baking technique I had seen a couple of months ago. So all I had to do was get inspired,
buy a heart shaped cookie cutter and get baking. For another simple Valentine's Day recipe, visit Little Hearts.
Ingredients (makes 2 cakes)
For Pink/Red Cake
All purpose flour – 1 ½ cups
Baking powder – 1 ¾ tsps
Butter – ½ cup
Eggs – 2
Vanilla extract – 2 tsps
White sugar – 1 cup
Pink/Red food color as required
For Plain Cake
All purpose flour – 1 ½ cups
Baking powder – 1 ¾ tsps
Butter – ½ cup
Eggs – 2
Vanilla extract – 2 tsps
White sugar – 1 cup
Method
Preheat the oven to 3500 F.
Grease and flour a loaf pan and keep ready.
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and
butter. Once it is smooth and creamy, beat in one egg at a time. Stir in the
vanilla and food color.
Mix together the flour and baking powder and
add to the butter mixture. The batter will be slightly thick at this point.
Slowly, stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Add more color if required. Transfer
to the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. The cake is done when it springs
back upon touch.
Remove from the oven and turn out onto a
plate/cutting board. Once it has cooled completely, cut into ¾ - 1 inch thick
slices. Using a heart shaped cookie
cutter, cut out pink hearts and keep aside.
Cake 2
Preheat the oven to 3500 F.
Grease and flour a loaf pan and keep ready.
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and
butter. Once it is smooth and creamy, beat in one egg at a time. Stir in the
vanilla. Mix together the flour and baking powder and add to the butter
mixture. The batter will be slightly thick at this point. Slowly, stir in the
milk until batter is smooth. Place the pink hearts from the previous cake into
the loaf pan and pour the fresh batter, making sure all the hearts are covered
completely. Bake for 30-40 minutes. The cake is done when it springs back upon
touch.
Remove onto a plate and allow it to cool
completely before slicing. Present it to your valentine and surprise him/her with
the hidden hearts! Bon Appétit and Happy Valentine’s Day!
Note:
I made the mistake of pouring the plain
batter into the loaf pan and pushing the hearts into the batter. This wasn’t easy
and the end result was not neat. So I recommend placing the hearts first and
pouring the batter over them.
The heart shape can be substituted
with any other shape, to suit the occasion.
