Valentines day is a thing in America, not so much in Australia… That being said, I think it’s safe to say that cake is a thing in every country. And it’s definitely a thing when you have a heart shaped bunt cake pan from Williams-Sonoma.
Makes 1 12×8 pan- to make for a bunt pan, simply double the recipe.
- 450g (1 lb) strawberries
- 300g self rising flour
- 250g white sugar, 50g reserved
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp vanilla paste
- 150ml whole milk, lightly warmed3
- 125g unsalted butter, melted
- 180g good quality dark chocolate
- 85g (6tbsp) salted butter, room temperature
- 1 tbsp corn syrup, glucose
Method
- Evenly coat your bunt or cake pan with butter and place in the fridge to cool.
- Puree your strawberries in a blender or food processor until smooth. Transfer into a small sauce pan and reduce over medium heat until thick and deep in color. Set aside to cool completely.
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC (350ºF).
- In a large bowl, mix together your flour and sugar. Add in your eggs, vanilla, milk, unsalted butter and strawberry. Mix until smooth.
- Pour into your prepared baking dish and bake in the center of the oven for 40 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Once baked, let cool for 5 minutes then flip out onto a wire rack to complete cooling. Once cooled you can trim the bottom of your cake with a serrated knife so it sits flat.
- Once cooled and trimmed you can begin your chocolate glaze.
- Boil 1 inch of water in a small sauce pan. Once water boils reduce heat to low. Add your chocolate, corn syrup and salted butter to a metal bowl and rest on top of the sauce pan. Stir until melted and smooth.
- Place your cake, topside up, on a wire rack and pour your chocolate glaze over the top, allowing it to fall naturally down the sides.
- Top with heart candies, strawberries or serve as is.
***The cake that I shot is only 2 of the 3 layers that are in the cake mould, I wanted a smaller cake so did not double the recipe 🙂