Chocolate box heart cake

What could be a nicer Valentine's present than a lovely box of chocolates? The answer – chocolates where the box is made of cake! I spotted this cake in a book I was given called 'Tempting ideas for teatime cakes'. With a title like that I expected a selection of fairly easy and quick cakes one could whip up in a jiffy. Whilst there is a fabulous collection of cakes in the book I wouldn't call a 'Rose Blossom Wedding Cake' or the 'Basket of Flowers' cake something that would be a cobbled together to have with a cup of tea on a rainy Tuesday afternoon.

Onto this cake and it immediately caught my eye when I saw it. I already had a heart shaped tin and covering it with some red icing seemed like something that even I with my very limited decorating skills could manage. However, horror upon horror the recipe asked for one quantity of sponge cake mix! I know that the heart tin is the same size as a round as an 8" (20cm) cake so I decided to make a chocolate Madeira cake instead. I went for a Madeira as the cake needs to be cut in two and covered in icing and this type of cake is a bit more sturdy for such purposes. The original recipe required a heart shaped board to be cut up to balance the top but with a Madeira cake this isn't required. I also decided to cut out some of the cake so it was more like a box.

Click here for a printable recipe.

Equipment: Heart shaped baking tin greased and lined, large bowl, string or measuring tape, small saucepan, rolling pin, small heart cutter.

Ingredients

11oz (315g) Unsalted butter, soften or baking spread

11oz (315g) Caster sugar

5 Large eggs

13oz (340g) Self raising flour

1oz (28g) Cocoa powder

1tbsp Milk

Decoration

Icing sugar for dusting

1lb (500g) Red fondant icing

2tbsp apricot jam

Around 12 chocolates in petit four paper cases (I melted 100g 0f milk chocolates and put it in a heart shaped silicone mould)

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C/Gas mark 3.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture is pale and fluffy.

3.Beat in the eggs one by one adding a little flour with each one.

4. Fold in the flour and cocoa powder making sure all mixture is combined.

5. Spoon into the tin, level the surface and then make a dip in the centre.

6. Bake for 1½ hours until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

7. Leave to cool slightly in the tin then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

8. the cake in two. On the bottom half leave a gap of 2cm and cut an even heart shape of a depth of about 1cm.

9. Scoop out the cake from inside the heart shape.

10. Cut off about a third of the red icing. Measure round the outside of the heart tin and note the figure.

11. Dust a flat surface with the icing sugar and roll out a strip of the red icing to the length of the outside of the tin and about 5cm wide.

12. Heat the apricot jam in the small saucepan and brush round the edge of the cake base. Lay the red icing around the edge and smooth round making a neat join at the back.

13. Roll out the second piece of red icing and use the base of the baking tin to cut out the heart shape. Brush the apricot jam over the top of the cake and lay the red icing on.

14. Using the left over icing cut out heart shapes to place round the edges. Use the apricot jam as a 'glue'.

15. Place the chocolates inside the 'box' and then balance the lid on so you can still see some of the chocolates.

Linking up with Alphabakes with Caroline Makes... and The more than occasional baker for this Valentine's bake, Bake of the Week at Casa Costello, Recipe of the Week at A Mummy Too, #FoodYearLinkup at My Recipe Book, #CookBlog Share at Supergolden Bakes and my own Love Cake.