Surprise a loved one and play cupid this Valentine’s Day with this Hidden Heart Loaf Cake. A deliciously soft vanilla sponge cake meets a raspberry flavoured hidden heart, and a delicious vanilla icing with fresh raspberries to garnish is sure to have them falling head over heels.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE
The perfect way to say I Love You | Find me a cuter and more delicious way to say I love you, I’ll wait! This hidden heart cake is so adorable and is the perfect baked gift for anyone be that your Valentine, Galentine or Palentine!
Easy and impressive | If this loaf cake is one thing, it’s impressive. On the surface it’s already a beautiful Raspberry loaf cake, but once that first slice reveals the hidden centre the wow factor goes up a few notches and it’ll leave many scratching their heads wondering how you did it. The method is so simple so just scroll down to discover the secret.
Delicious flavour combination | If the way to your loved ones heart is through their belly then these flavours promise to seal the deal. A delicate vanilla sponge meets a raspberry sponge in the centre and it’s all wrapped lovingly in a sweet vanilla icing with a pop of fresh raspberry. So delicious!
THE SECRET TO MAKING THIS HIDDEN HEART LOAF CAKE
To the unknown the reveal of this secret heart centre may seem a little like bakers magic. Yet whilst I would love to declare I’ve passed my OWLS at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry I have to admit that it’s actually VERY EASY.
So what’s the secret?
Bake two loaf cakes | The first is coloured a vibrant pink to the shade you want in the centre (the brighter the better in my opinion for full impact). I also flavoured mine with a raspberry extract. Then once cooled you simply slice the loaf up and cut out hearts using a cookie cutter.
What size cookie cutter? This is totally optional and will depend how big you want the hidden heart to be, but I made sure it was one approximately the same depth as my loaf tin so it sat almost central.
Make a vanilla sponge | Using the same ingredients and method (minus the food colouring and replacing the raspberry extract with vanilla) make a new loaf batter.
Line up the hearts | Spread about 1/4 of the batter across the bottom of the loaf tin and then line up the hearts inside all the way so they’re nicely packed in. Then top with the remaining batter until fully coated.
MY KITCHEN TIP | To cover the hearts it’s much easier to pipe on the batter as this gets the batter into all the areas and avoids any accidental heart breakages when adding with a spoon and smoothing it out. No heartbreak allowed over here
HOW TO MAKE THE VANILLA DRIZZLE
The vanilla icing is a super simple mixture of icing sugar, milk and vanilla. You can use water instead of milk, it works perfectly fine either way, I just like the creaminess that you get when using milk over water.
What consistency does the icing need to be? Typically you will want 200g icing sugar about 2 tbsp milk and 1 tsp vanilla but add the liquid slowly and watch how the icing develops. You want it to be thick but loose enough that it easily spread and runs down the loaf cake. I like to think of a little loose than toothpaste consistency.
Add your toppings | Top your loaf with a scattering of freeze dried raspberries and a generous mountain of fresh raspberries.
TOOLS YOU WILL NEED
It’s a simple cake to make but the magic can only happen if you have a few key tools
2lb loaf tin | This recipe will need a 2lb loaf tin, any smaller and there is a risk your cake will spill over when it bakes.
Nonstick Baking Paper | An important tool and crucial step to make sure your loaf cake doesn’t stick
2-3cm heart cookie cutter | To get the heart central to the loaf a 2-3cm shaped cutter will work fine. If you want to use smaller then this will also work well.
Piping Bags (optional) | As mentioned early piping the second cake batter on top of the hearts is a little easier than spreading it on with a spoon. Using a piping bag is completely optional though it’s just recommended for my method.
Shop these tools
MORE BAKES TO TRY FOR THE ONES THAT YOU LOVE
I would love it if you tagged me @mykitchendrawer on Instagram if you make this Hidden Heart Cake. It’s the biggest honour to see my recipes come to life in your kitchen and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to drop me a message. Happy baking!
Hidden Heart Loaf Cake
Ingredients
For the Pink Heart Sponge
- 250 g butter softened
- 250 g caster sugar
- 3 eggs large
- 250 g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp raspberry extract
- 1/2 tsp pink food colouring
For the Vanilla Sponge
- 300 g butter softened
- 300 g caster sugar
- 4 eggs large
- 300 g plain flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Vanilla Icing
- 200 g icing sugar
- 2-3 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Freeze dried raspberries to decorate
- 100 g Fresh Raspberries to decorate
Instructions
For the Pink Sponge Hearts
- Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 2lb loaf tin with non-stick baking paper.
- In a standing mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one by one, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Then add the raspberry extract and pink food colouring and mix it through.
- Combine the flour and baking powder then add it all at once, folding it through the mixer with a spatula until fully combined.
- Pour the pink batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean
- Leave the loaf to cool, then once cooled slice the loaf the same thickness as a 2-3cm heart cookie cutter (approx 6-7 slices). Cut out a heart shape from each slice of loaf and then leave them to one side. Reuse or eat the scraps (bakers perks)
For the Vanilla Loaf Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 2lb loaf tin with non-stick baking paper.
- Repeat the same steps as above using the ingredients for the vanilla loaf cake, stopping just before you add the batter to the loaf tin.
To assemble
- Pour out 1/4 of the vanilla loaf batter to the bottom of the prepared loaf tin then stand up the cut out hearts in a row down the middle.
- Pour the rest of the batter into a piping bag and pipe the remaining batter on top of the hearts and down the sides until evenly coated and the hearts are no longer visible.
- Spread the batter out on top then bake for 45-55 minutes. Leave the cake to cool fully before decorating.
For the vanilla icing
- Add 200g icing sugar to a bowl and add 1 tbsp of milk and the vanilla mixing it through. Add the 2nd tbsp slowly until you have an icing that is thick but falls off a spoon.
- To decorate, pour the icing across the top of the loaf cake pushing it gently over the sides to form drips.
- Scatter the top with freeze dried raspberries and a generous mountain of fresh raspberries.
Hi!
Made this today and can’t wait to try it tomorrow. It looks to have turned out perfectly, although my batter appears to have been much thicker than yours. It definitely wouldn’t have gone in a piping bag!
I think your ingredient list is missing the baking powder in the vanilla sponge.
Your dessert looks gorgeous.
Jennifer