On the day dedicated to lovers, do you want to surprise your partner or simply prepare a delicious love-themed dessert to share with the whole family?
Then the Valentine’s Day plumcake recipe, a cocoa plumcake that hides a red heart inside, is just what you need.
A very scenic yet equally easy-to-make dessert that requires no particular pastry chef skills. In fact, you just need to prepare a single base mixture with eggs, sugar, milk, flour, oil, then divide it (in different proportions) into two bowls: one colored with bitter cocoa and the other with red food coloring.
The red mixture must be baked separately to create the hearts, which are then placed in the center of the mold surrounded by cocoa batter. Easier done than said.
Now take a minute to read the recipe and then…let’s cook and eat!!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 3 egg
- 180 g sugar
- 2/3 cup milk (+2 tbsps)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 packet baking powder
- as needed red food coloring (in gel)
Tools
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Electric whisk
- 1 Hand whisk
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Baking tin
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Cookie cutter heart-shaped
- 1 Plumcake mold 8 x 4.5 inches
- 1 Kitchen scale
Steps
To prepare the Valentine’s Day plumcake, start with the base mixture that you will then divide into two for different colorings.
In a bowl, collect the eggs with the granulated sugar
Using electric beaters, beat the eggs until light and fluffy, then add 2/3 cup of milk, the vegetable oil and mix well.
At this point, add the previously sifted flour a little at a time and incorporate it into the egg mixture using a hand whisk. Lastly, sift in the baking powder.
When all the powders are perfectly incorporated and you have obtained a homogeneous, lump-free mixture, take 1/3 of it, transfer it to another bowl and add a few drops of red gel food coloring.
Using a silicone spatula, mix well until the coloring is evenly distributed in the dough. Transfer this to a baking sheet (8 x12 inches) lined with parchment paper and bake it at 375°F in a preheated static oven for 12 minutes.
Once baked, let it cool on a rack before cutting with a heart-shaped cookie cutter of the desired size.
In the meantime, add the sifted cocoa powder to the remaining batter and add 2 tbsps of milk to mix everything well, until you get a homogeneous cocoa mixture.
Line the bottom of a plumcake mold with parchment paper, previously greased with a release agent, pour some spoonfuls of cocoa batter on top, and insert the hearts in the center of the mold along the entire length.
Finally, pour the remaining cocoa batter into the mold, covering the hearts as well.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 350°F for 30-35 minutes.
Once baked, let your Valentine’s Day plumcake cool before serving it sliced with the red heart in plain view 😉.
