I stole your heart (and put it in a cake)

That’s probably the most heavy metal title I’ve ever chosen.

I’ve always looked at projects like this with awe.

How delicate and awesome they looked. See here for some wonderful examples.

So I was kind of glad when Flatmate and I discussed the best type of cake and the result was “Tasty and messy” not “Delicate and detailed”.

But I was determined to try one.

Lo and behold, in it’s own messy way it worked!

I tried following the recipe from Good Food, but almonds are a no go and it took ages to cook, so I free styled, being the impatient person I am. I also didn’t just want sponge.

So I’m going to give you a method that allows you to tailor it for anyone. Just insert your preferences in instead of mine.

You need:
Two cake mixes of different colours
Patience (only a little)

The basic method is this-
Make one loaf cake in the colour and flavour that you want your internal pattern to be. Make sure this is a fairly dense, non crumbly cake.

I used 3/4 of my basic sponge cake mixture with a splodge of milk, extra vanilla and red food colouring. It took around 40minutes to cook at 180C. Make sure the middle is completely cooked using a skewer, as it needs to come out clean.

Leave it to cool for a while. Slice into thick slices and take your cutter of choice to them. Warm cake doesn’t slice very well (been there, done that). I used the biggest cutter I could get away with.

There was still lots of wastage though, but I’m sure you can find family/friends/pets to hoover it away for you.

Line a loaf tin with baking paper and create a conga line of your shapes, so that they’re wedged in nice and tight. If you’re using really small cutters for your shape, pour some of the other cake mixture in first and then let your shapes conga away.

Pour over another cake mixture of choice until the tops are just covered and bake. Make sure you test the edges of the cake, as your middle cake is already cooked!

I used this chocolate cake mix off the Pink Whisk that an office mate introduced to me, because it’s really easy, doesn’t require too many eggs and cooks very quickly.

Once you’re sure your cake is cooked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool before cutting it. This is the moment of truth…

Alternatively, you could choose to add a rich chocolate frosting as well. Mine got a simple topping of leftover marzipan cut into heart shapes. There’s sprinkles, or a dark red frosting, or a cream cheese frosting, or your favourite frosting. Then there’s melted chocolate or ice cream or cream or…

The flavour combinations for this bake are endless. A orange-flavoured centre cake with chocolate outside and chocolate orange frosting? Or a chocolate indulgence cake with white chocolate frosting?

So whether you’re making this cake for a loved one or just fancied making a cake one Sunday afternoon, go for it and make it your own.

CakeBoxFox