Valentine’s Day is about love and pleasure! And what could be more pleasurable than a perfect cake in the shape of a heart, filled with chocolate pieces and strawberry slices and covered with rich white glaze!
Serves: – Preparation time: 20′ Cooking time: 30′ Ready in: 50′
By Dimitris Chronopoulos
Ingredients
225 gr butter, at room temperature
225 gr icing sugar
190 gr soft flour, sifted
40 gr cocoa powder, sifted
4 eggs
2 gr salt
7 gr baking powder, sifted
50 gr bittersweet chocolate, grated
5 strawberries, sliced
For the glaze:
1 egg white
200 gr icing sugar sifted
½ lemon, juiced
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven at 160C and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. In the bowl of your electric mixer beat butter with sugar and salt, until white and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs until incorporated. Add sifted flour, cocoa and baking powder and beat until well incorporated.
Step 2
Butter and flour an 9-inch heart-shaped cake pan with 2 1/4 inch (6 cm) sides.
Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with all chocolate pieces and strawberry slices. Pour the rest of the batter and bake for about 30 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes. Run a spatula around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake. Invert onto a wire rack. Place on serving platter.
Step 3
Prepare the glaze: In the bowl of your electric mixer beat egg white with sugar until smooth. Beat in lemon juice (add more sugar if glaze is too runny). Place glaze in a piping bag, form two hearts on the surface of the cake and decororate with a rose petal on each one.
Photo: Vangelis Paterakis – Food Styling: Antonia Kati
