The chocolate heart cake is a simple yet delicious dessert, specifically designed for all chocolate lovers. You’ll need nearly 300 g of chocolate to prepare it, which melts into a dessert that will make every fan of this delight dizzy. An ideal solution for this post-Easter period: if you, like me, have a pantry full of chocolate eggs, this cake – like the Caprese or the soft chocolate tart – is one of the best ways to use chocolate Easter eggs and create a spectacular and delicious dessert. The chocolate heart cake, with its soft and slightly moist base, would already be a complete dessert on its own, perhaps simply dusted with powdered sugar. However, if you want to make this dessert even more inviting and serve it as a dessert for the end of the meal, you can make a soft chocolate ganache, which is mouth-watering just to look at. To decorate the chocolate heart cake, I used decorative chocolate hearts white and dark that can be easily found at the supermarket, but if you prefer, you can use colored sprinkles or a few dollops of whipped cream.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 6 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for a cake in a heart-shaped mold about 8.5 inches in diameter
To prepare the gluten-free dessert, I replaced the all-purpose flour with 210 g of rice flour + 40 g of potato starch. If you are celiac, remember that rice flour, starch, cocoa, baking powder, chocolate, and decorations must have the label “gluten-free”.
- 5.3 oz dark chocolate
- 3 eggs (medium)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (for the gluten-free cake I used 1.75 cups of fine rice flour + 1/3 cup of potato starch)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sunflower seed oil
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 packet baking powder (16 g)
- 4.4 oz 55% dark chocolate
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (unsweetened)
- 1.4 oz butter
- to taste decorative chocolate hearts
Tools
- 3 Bowls
- Electric mixers
- 1 Microwave
- 1 Mold heart-shaped about 8.5 inches in diameter
- Parchment paper
- 1 Cooling rack
How to prepare the glazed chocolate cake in the heart mold
To prepare the chocolate heart cake, start with the base: finely chop 5.3 oz of dark chocolate and melt it in a double boiler or in the microwave. In the first case, place a pot of water on the stove with a smaller pan on top (there are even specific ones for double boiler), so that the bottom of the top pan does not touch the water directly. Place the chocolate in the smaller pan and melt it slowly, stirring constantly.
If you prefer to melt the chocolate in the microwave, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and set it to maximum power for 30 seconds. Stir and return it to the microwave for 10 seconds. Continue in this way – melting the chocolate for 10 seconds and stirring each time – until it is perfectly melted.
In a large bowl, crack the eggs and add the sugar (1). Whip them with the electric mixers for a few minutes, until they are light (2). Pour the oil in a steady stream (3) while continuing to incorporate it with the mixers.
When you have combined it with the eggs, also pour in the water (4) and continue mixing with the mixers. Sift the unsweetened cocoa, flour (or rice flour and starch for the gluten-free version), and baking powder (5) into the bowl. Continue working the mixture with the electric mixers until it is homogeneous (6).
Finally, add the now cooled melted chocolate (7) and incorporate it into the batter, still using the electric mixers. You will end up with a fairly dense mixture (8). Line a heart-shaped mold about 8.5 inches in diameter with parchment paper. If you prefer, you can butter and flour it. Pour the batter into it and level it with the back of a spoon (9).
Bake the chocolate heart cake in the already hot oven at 356°F (static) for 35-40 minutes. Before removing it from the oven, check its baking with a toothpick, and if the batter is still soft, extend the baking for 5 minutes. When it is baked, remove it from the oven (10) and let it cool completely before removing it from the mold.
Then proceed to prepare the chocolate ganache. Finely chop 4.4 oz of dark chocolate (11). If you don’t have a microwave, prepare the ganache by following the instructions in this recipe. If you have a microwave, place the chocolate, butter in pieces, and cream in a microwave-safe bowl (12).
Set it to 30 seconds at maximum power, then stir well. Return the bowl to the microwave and let it run for another 10 seconds, repeating this operation – 10 seconds in the microwave and stirring – until the chocolate is completely melted (13). Let it cool for 5 minutes. Then proceed to glaze the cake: place it on a cooling rack, placing a sheet of parchment paper underneath. Let the ganache drip onto the cake, spreading it well with the back of a spoon or a spatula (14).
Make sure to cover the edges as well. The glaze that dripped onto the parchment paper can be recovered. When you have glazed the entire cake (15), decorate it with the chocolate hearts (16).
Let the ganache dry at room temperature for about an hour before serving it. Keep in mind that since it’s a ganache with butter and cream, if kept at room temperature, it won’t become completely solid but will remain soft and melty.
Storage
If it’s not too hot, you can store the chocolate heart cake at room temperature, under a food cover, even for 3 days. If you decide to store it in the fridge, remember to take it out at least 30 minutes before enjoying it, otherwise, the glaze will be completely hard.
Tips and Variations
You can flavor the cake batter with a tablespoon of rum. If you want to garnish the cake with whipped cream, wait until the ganache has slightly hardened and arrange a few dollops of cream here and there just before serving.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can I replace dark chocolate with milk chocolate?
You can replace dark chocolate with milk chocolate by following these instructions: instead of 4.4 oz of chocolate for the ganache, use 5.3 oz, keeping the amounts of cream and butter unchanged. Regarding the base, still use 5.3 oz of milk chocolate but, as it is sweeter, consider reducing the sugar amount to even 5.3 oz.
