Chocolate Hidden Heart Loaf
Happy Valentine’s Day! A heart themed bake for you today. This hidden heart loaf is dense, delicious chocolate pound cake with vanilla hidden hearts. Perfect for slicing and sharing with whoever you are celebrating Valentine’s with! We’ve used our Tala Performance 2lb Loaf Tin for this recipe, it is so sturdy and non-stick, you never have to grease or line the tins!
Equipment:
2lb Performance loaf pan
Spatula
Small heart shaped cookie cutter
Ingredients:
Vanilla loaf:
200g butter, room temperature
200g plain flour
200g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
4 tbsp milk
Chocolate loaf:
200g butter, room temperature
150g plain flour
50g cacao powder
200g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
4 tbsp milk
Decoration:
60g icing sugar
2-3 tsp water
1 tbsp freeze dried raspberry
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 180c/fan 160c.
- Beat the butter and sugar for the vanilla loaf together until light and creamy.
- Beat in the eggs, milk and vanilla.
- Fold in the flour, salt and baking powder.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Set aside and allow to cool. Once mostly cool, lift out of the tin and set aside.
- Prepare the loaf tin again.
- Repeat the batter mixing instructions, fold in the cacao powder at the end to make a chocolate batter.
- Slice the vanilla loaf into thick 3cm slices. Use a small heart shape cookie cutter to cut out lots of hearts from the slices. Save the leftover cake for another use – it is perfect for cake pops!
- Spread a layer of about 2cm of batter into the bottom of the loaf tin.
- Place two hearts, top down into the batter at the top of the tin, pressed against the top surface. Continue placing top down, against each other, all the way down the tin.
- Pour the rest of the batter on top and around the sides of the hearts. Spread out evenly.
- Bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Set aside and allow to cool completely.
- Flip out of the tin on to a wire rack.
- Mix the icing sugar and water together until smooth. Drizzle over the cake and sprinkle over the raspberries.
- Slice and serve.