This cake is perfect for Valentine's Day. Heart shaped, full of chocolate, walnuts and caramel. You have to prepare this perfect surprise for your loved one. I don't think that everybody likes cakes like this but Valentine's Love Cake will certainly bring up the serotonin level in you. Delicious chocolate cake, coated in caramel sauce, enriched with chocolate cream and topped with chocolate ganache is unforgettable dessert, like no other.
Ingredients for the cake
- 1-1/2 cup of flour
- 1/3 cup of cocoa
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 cup of oil
- 1 cup of cold water
- 2 tbsp of cider vinegar
Method
Mix all of the above mentioned ingredients (I added 1/2 cup of chopped toasted walnuts :-) ) and pour the mixture into the pan covered with baking paper. Don't forget to prepare a heart shaped pan, but if you haven't (I haven't either) take a round shaped pan and use the foil to build in the heart sides. It's harder that way but it can be helpful. Bake the cake on 375F degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Ingredients for the caramel sauce
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 4 tbsp of butter
- 1 cup of half-and-half
Mix 1 cup of brown sugar with 4 tbsp of butter and 1 cup of half-and-half and cook it on a medium heat for 5 minutes until it gets thicker. Cool it down (as I didn't - it got cold on the cake :-) )
Ingredients for the chocolate cream
- 1 cup of cooking cream
- 1 cup of whipped cream
- 1-1/2 cup of chocolate
Heat up the cooking cream and add the chocolate to melt it in. When it got the smooth creamy look leave it to cool down in the room temperature so you can slowly add the whipped cream. I added some chopped walnut cookies too :-).
Ingredients for the chocolate ganache
- 2 cups of chocolate
- 3/4 cups of heavy cream
Mix the chocolate and a heavy cream, heat it until chocolate melts down and whisk it until smooth.
Assemble the cake and decorate it as you wish.
