Autumn Amelia

Hello everyone!

Happy Valentine's week!

When I think of Valentine flavors I immediately think of chocolate and strawberry.

I thought they would be the perfect flavors for a Valentine cake!

And to really drive the Valentine theme home, let's make it heart-shaped.

I do not have a heart-shaped cake pan so, I created a heart by using a round and square cake.

If you go this route, you will need to double the below recipe.

You will need:

1 and 1/3 Cups of Flour

2/3 Cups of Cocoa Powder

1 and 1/2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder

1/2 a Teaspoon of Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

1 and 1/3 Cups of Sugar

2/3 Cups of Brown Sugar

4 Eggs

1/3 Cup of Water

2 Teaspoons of Vanilla

1 Cup of Sour Cream

1/4 Cup of Vegetable Oil
Fresh Strawberries For Filling

Preheat oven to 325o.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Add both the sugars and whisk until evenly combined.

Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, water and vanilla.

Whisk in the sour cream and vegetable oil.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the sour cream mixture.

Stir until there are no dry streaks of flour remaining, being careful not to overmix.

Grease an 8X8 square metal baking pan.

Line the bottom with parchment paper and dust with cocoa powder.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Tap the pan on your work surface to get rid of any bubbles.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, around 35-40 minutes.
Repeat the recipe and bake in an 8 inch round metal baking pan.

Let cool.

Prepare the strawberry frosting.

You will need:

8 Cups of Powdered Sugar

4 Sticks of Salted Butter, Softened

1/2 a Cup of Pureed Strawberries

Beat the powdered sugar and butter until light and fluffy, around 3-5 minutes.

Slowly add the strawberry puree until you reach your desired consistency.

Add a dot of frosting to your serving tray and add the cooled square cake on top placed on its side to resemble a diamond.

Cut the circle cake in half vertically.

Add one of the halves of the circle cake on the left side of the top point of the square cake, and the other half of the circle cake on the right side of the top point of the square cake.  

Now you have a heart!

Add a thin layer of the strawberry frosting to the bottom half of the cake.
Cut fresh strawberries into thin slices and place on top of the frosting.

Add the top halves to the cake and frost the entire thing.

Let the first layer of frosting set in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Add another layer of frosting and let set once more.

Serve.

Enjoy!

This is the perfect dessert to help you and your loved ones celebrate this week.

The heart shape alone makes it festive enough for the Valentines but, add in the classic flavor pairing of chocolate and strawberries and you can't lose!

What are your Valentine's plans this year?

All my love,

Autumn