On Valentine’s Day, we usually feel romantic, so why not have fun preparing Valentine’s Day mini citrus cakes? A truly delicious combination: lemon-flavored cake accompanied by a delicate orange cream, truly superb!

Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Cheap
Preparation time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Cooking time: 1 Hour
Portions: 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

2 cups Cornstarch
1.6 cups All-purpose flour
3.5 oz Whole hazelnuts, cleaned
7 tbsp Milk
0.4 oz Fresh baker's yeast (1/2 block)
3 tbsp Butter
1 Medium egg
4.4 oz Low-fat plain yogurt
1.25 cups Sugar
1 Lemon
2.5 cups Powdered sugar
2/3 cup Orange juice (from about 2 oranges)
10.5 oz Eggs (about 6 medium eggs)
2 Grated zest of 2 oranges
3 sheets Gelatin sheets (total 0.2 oz)
1 cup Butter
1 tsp Red food coloring
2.8 oz Small blue meringues
2.8 oz Small pink meringues

Preparation

Place the hazelnuts in a food processor and grind them until they become a flour (be careful as they may turn into a paste if they get too warm).
In a cup, put 100 ml (7 tbsp) of milk, warm it slightly, add the yeast, and wait about 5 minutes for it to activate.
In a large bowl, place the cornstarch, flour, ground hazelnuts, milk with yeast, slightly melted butter, yogurt, egg, sugar, and lemon juice.
Mix well with a spatula and add the lemon peels cut into very small cubes last (for the process, click here).
Mix again thoroughly until the batter is smooth and homogeneous.
Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for at least 3-4 hours.
Butter and flour a 10-inch pan, place the batter inside, and bake for about 40 minutes at 355°F (always do the toothpick test to check doneness).
Once cooled, remove from the pan and cut out cylinders with a 3-inch diameter cutter (you should get 6).
Soften the gelatin in a bowl with cold water for about 10 minutes.
Put the orange juice in a saucepan, add the grated zest and 150 grams (3/4 cup) of sugar, and heat everything.
In a bowl, place the eggs and the remaining 150 grams (3/4 cup) of sugar and mix well with a whisk.
As soon as the orange and sugar mixture starts to boil, pour it over the egg mixture and mix well.
Pour everything back into the saucepan over a rather low heat, stirring with a whisk until the cream thickens.
Off the heat, add the squeezed gelatin and let it warm slightly in a bowl.
Once lukewarm, incorporate the softened butter in pieces and mix well with a whisk.
Let the cream thicken slightly for about ten minutes. It shouldn’t solidify, just thicken a little; otherwise, it will run while covering the cake cylinders.
Place about 2 tablespoons of orange cream in a bowl and add the red coloring.
Cut the cakes in half and put a generous layer of orange cream.
Cover the entire surface, using a spatula to level the cream.
Finally, cover the top of the cylinder.
Put the red cream in a syringe with a serrated nozzle and make the heart decoration on top of the cake and the tufts around.
Add the colored meringues to finish the decoration.