Anyone deserves a little something on Valentine’s day and what a better way to express your love than making a superb and delicious cake. This recipe is so simple that it will prove that making breathtaking desserts is not impossible. From the classic chocolate sponge cake to the delicious raspberry ganache, decorated with raspberry powder. You are guaranteed to melt the heart of your love one without staying up all night to do so.
Serves 6 people
3oz (85g) bittersweet chocolate
1 cup + 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp + 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp + 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 vanilla extract
2/3 cup hot water
300g raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tbsp water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup white chocolate chips
Fresh raspberries
Whipped raspberry ganache
1 cup freeze-dried raspberries
Petal tip number 61 + pastry bag
1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C).
2. Line the bottom of a 8-inch springform pan or cake pan with a parchment paper (you can also use a heart shaped pan if you have one).
3. Melt the chocolate with a Bain Marie. Leave the chocolate to melt by itself without touching.
4. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, sugars and salt.
5. In another mixing bowl, mix the eggs with well-shake buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Stirring constantly, add in the hot water, then the melted chocolate.
6. Combine dry mixture with wet mixture.
7. Pour the batter into the pan and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out, peel the parchment from the bottom, and allow to cool completely.
9. Cut the cake top to level the cake. Keep aside the leftovers to make cake truffles.
10. Now for the heart shape. If you have baked your cake in a round cake pan, the trick is to use a piece of paper just like a stencil. Place your baking pan on the top of the sheet of paper, draw its round shape, then draw a heart shape within the round you just made. Cut the paper into a heart, place it on top of the cake and sprinkle it with icing sugar. There, you just need to cut out the heart shape from your sponge with a knife. Keep aside the leftovers to make fun cake truffles.
11. Place raspberries, coconut sugar and water into a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
12. Transfer the raspberries into a sieve and with the help of a tablespoon pressed into the fruits to allow the juice and pulp to pass through. Make sure to place a bowl underneath and scrape the bottom of your sieve to collect all the seedless puree. There should be very little red pulp left into the sieve at the end of this process, leaving you with just the seeds left to discard.
13. Bring to a boil 1/2 cup of heavy cream placed into a small saucepan.
14. Stir in the raspberry sauce and let it simmer for 2 more minutes.
15. Meanwhile, place the white chocolate chips into a mixing bowl (preferably in stainless-steel). Then, pour the hot raspberry cream over the white chocolate. Combine well using a spatula.
16. Place the ganache in the fridge for 1 or 2 hours for the ganache to set. You can always leave it for about 10 to 15 minutes in the freezer if you have room.
17. Ten minutes before whisking the ganache, place your wire whip into the freezer. We want it to be ice cold.
18. Whip up the chilled ganache on high speed until it doubles in volume and forms fluffy picks (about 3 to 4 minutes).
19. Set aside in the fridge to maintain its cold and firm texture.
20. To decorate the cake, we will be using a reusable pastry bag with petal tip number 61. Fill the pastry bag with ganache using a spoon or spatula. Only fill the bag about half way up. Place the rest of the ganache in the fridge.
21. Grab your pastry bag by the wide end and give it a few quick shakes to lower the ganache and remove any air excess before using.
22. Pipe a layer of ganache following the edge of the cake, then fill the heart to completely cover the top of the cake (this step doesn’t need to be perfectly shaped).
23. Halve fresh raspberries and place them all over the top of the ganache.
24. Fill the pastry bag with more ganache. It’s time to decorate the top of the cake in petal flower. The key here is to position the wide end of your tip towards the center of the cake and the narrow end pointing outward. First, lean the pastry bag on a 30 degree angle and place the wide end of your tip close to the surface of the cake. Squeeze the bag to let the ganache out, then stop pressing and pull down toward the center. You should have your first petal. Repeat all around the edge of the cake. If you have a gap between petals, position your tip a bit more straight and fill the gap. For the second line of petals, work really close to the first line. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just keep going until all the top surface is covered. If you have too much ganache leftovers, you can freeze it for about 3 months, or keep it in the fridge for several days.
25. Place a cup of freeze-dried raspberries into a food processor (or blender) and blend it into a powder.
26. Using a small sieve, sprinkle the top of the cake with raspberry powder until all petals are covered.
Cheers Xx
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