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Cute little cakes hearts. These are so versatile and might be one of my new favorite things to make! I have to admit I don’t always enjoy making cake pops but these I loved making.
TOOLS & INGREDIENTS
For the cake hearts
130 g cake crumbs
1-2 tbsp buttercream
250 g white chocolate
4 tbsp Royal Icing
sprinkles
edible gold leaf
colors of your choice
Geo heart mold
piping bags
baking paper
PREPARATION
1. Place 150g (51/2oz) white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave in 15-20 second bursts until 80% melted – you want a few chunks of chocolate still visible. Stir until completely melted and the chocolate looks shiny and thick – this is now ready to use.
2. Now add some color – I used pink as it works really well in chocolate.
3. Pour the chocolate equally into the mold.
4. Using the back of a teaspoon, spread the chocolate around the shape and up the sides, ensuring the whole shape is covered.
5. Pour the excess chocolate into a bowl.
6. Using a palette knife, clean around the shapes. It doesn’t need to be perfect as it’s really easy to clean up after they are set. Place them in the fridge to set for 15 minutes.
7. Take some cake and, using your fingers, crumble this into fine ‘breadcrumbs’. Place the cake crumbs and buttercream together in a bowl and mix until combined well – it should be sticky and dough-like.
8. Gently press the cake mixture into the set heart shapes, pressing carefully so you don’t crack the chocolate. Fill these shapes around 3-4mm (1/8in) from the top, leaving room to seal them with more chocolate.
9. Melt and color the remaining chocolate, then pour a little into each heart shape. Using your palette knife, spread around to seal the shape. Clean up the sides. Once covered, pop back in the fridge for 15 minutes to set.
10. Once set, you can gently start to peel them out. Just bend back the silicone and the heart should release easily. Place on some baking paper ready to decorate.
11. Mix up a small amount of royal icing so it is thick, but ribbons off a spoon easily. I use royal icing so it is a bright white color as I find white chocolate can be a little yellow. Add this to a piping bag, then pipe small lines over the top of the heart on a diagonal.
12. Add some sprinkles before the royal icing sets. Take some tiny pieces of edible gold leaf and add these on. You won’t need glue as they stick perfectly on the chocolate without it.
13. Melt any remaining chocolate again, then add a darker pink color. Transfer to a piping bag and drizzle some lines over the top diagonal of the heart.
14. Add some sprinkles before the chocolate sets – I also added some gold leaf to the chocolate drizzle and sprinkles too. Leave to sit for 15-20 minutes, then take off the baking paper and, using a palette knife, neaten up any edges around the base.
All the tools and ingredients are available at CBS.