Hidden heart cake-Valentine's Day

 

Ingredients

For the cake

• 2 x 175g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 x 175g golden caster sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 2 x 140g self-raising flour, sifted
• 2 x ½ tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 x 85g ground almond
• 2 x 100ml milk
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 28ml bottle red food colourings or ½ tsp red food colouring gel

For the icing

• 100ml double cream
• 200g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 50g unsalted butter
• pink sprinkles (optional)
•  
  Prep: 50 mins Cook: 2 hrs, 20 mins plus cooling
  Moderately easy
  Cuts into 8-10 slices

  Method

  1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a 900g loaf tin and line with a long strip of baking parchment. Cream 175g butter and 175g sugar until light and fluffy. Beat 3 of the eggs and pour in, a little at a time, mixing after each addition. Sift together 140g flour, 1⁄2 tsp baking powder and the cocoa, then fold into the butter mixture along with the almonds. Combine 100ml milk, 11⁄2 tsp vanilla and all the food colouring and add to the batter, then mix until evenly coloured.
  2. Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 1 hr 10 mins until a skewer comes out clean. Cool for 10 mins in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack. When cool, cut the cake into 4cm slices. Using a 5cm cutter, stamp out the hearts (save any remaining cake for another treat).
  3. Repeat step 1 to make a second cake mixture – you won’t have cocoa or food colour in this batch. Pour 3⁄4 of the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Push the bottoms of the hearts into the batter in a tightly packed row. Spoon over the remaining cake mixture, covering as much of the hearts as possible. bake for 1 hr or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool for 10 mins in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  4. For the icing, gently heat all the ingredients over a low heat until combined. Leave to cool, then chill until needed. Spread over the cooled cake and decorate with the sprinkles, if using. Will keep for 3 days stored in a cake tin.