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Valentine’s Day Chocolate Cake

This mini chocolate cake is the perfect gift for Valentine's Day. It's super moist, fluffy, and chocolaty, filled and covered with chocolate ganache, and decorated with the cutest red hearts. A cake to fall in love with!
Prep Time1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Cooling time3 hours
Total Time5 hours
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, French
Keyword: chocolate ganache, Chocolate sponge, dark chocolate, Valentine's day, white ganache
Servings: 6 slices (1 6-inch cake)
Author: Lucia Paula Acevedo

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 120 g All purpose flour
  • 30 g Cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • 1 tsp Baking soda
  • 1 Pinch of salt
  • 140 g Granulated sugar
  • 40 g Brown sugar
  • 40 g Dark chocolate chopped
  • 140 ml Buttermilk
  • 1 egg
  • 80 ml Vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp Instant coffee
  • 30 ml Hot water for the coffee

Filling and decoration:

  • 1 batch of Dark Chocolate Ganache See notes

Hearts:

  • 40 g chopped white chocolate
  • 30 g Whipping cream
  • ½ tsp Red food coloring

Instructions

For the ganache:

  • Make the ganache as shown in the recipe. Cover and leave at room temperature before making the cake.

For the cake:

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 6-inch mold and line it with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, sift the flour with baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, and salt. Add the white and brown sugar and the chopped chocolate. Mix with a hand whisk.
  • Add the egg, buttermilk, oil, and coffee dissolved in the hot water. Mix until fully combined.
  • Pour the batter into the mold and bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes. When you insert a skewer into the cake and comes out clean, it will be ready to take out.
  • Let cool for 5-10 minutes and unmold. Let cool completely on a drying rack.

For building and decorating:

  • Check the consistency of the ganache: it should be spreadable but not too firm. It can be placed in the refrigerator in 15-minute intervals, mixing each time, until you get the right consistency.
  • Cut the cake top (the dome) and remove it. Cut the cake in half.
  • Glue the base of the cake to a board or a dish. Fill the cake with ¼ of the ganache and cover it with the other sponge.
  • Place half of the rest of the ganache on top of the cake and cover the top and sides. Smooth the sides with the scraper and remove the excess from the edges with an offset spatula.
  • Decorate the top with the hearts and make a border with the rest of the ganache, with a piping bag and a small star tip.
  • You can cut the cake right away but it’s better to make it one or two days ahead. Store in the fridge in a container or box for up to a week. Take it out of the fridge 2 to 4 hours before serving.

For the hearts:

  • For the red ganache, place the cream in a small bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds. Add the red color and dissolve. The cream will be a dark pink color.
  • Add the chocolate to the cream, mix lightly, and microwave again for 15 seconds. Mix and finish combining. If it still doesn't melt and the chocolate is still warm, heat it for 5 more seconds.
  • Once combined, let it rest until it gets to a piping consistency. Place it in a piping bag, cut the tip, and make tiny hearts all over the top of the cake.

Notes

You can find the full recipe for dark chocolate ganache by clicking here!