Heart And Flowers Cake Recipes

HEART AND FLOWERS CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make, bake and cool cake as directed on box--except use one 8-inch round pan and one 8-inch square pan. Check square pan for doneness about 2 minutes before round pan.
• Cut round cake in half. Place cut sides against sides of square cake to form heart shape, attaching pieces with small amount of frosting.
• Spread frosting on cake. Make flowers with assorted gumdrops: Flatten gumdrops with rolling pin. Cut out small petal-shaped flowers. Pinch flower in center to make it 3-dimensional. Cut out gumdrop leaves and stems. Arrange gumdrop flowers on cake. Arrange candied orange slices to form butterfly wings and butterfly body. Store loosely covered.

ROBERTA HEART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack set in lower third of oven. Butter a 10-by-2-inch heart-shaped pan. Line bottom and sides with parchment paper; set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine the espresso and water. Stir to dissolve. In a heatproof bowl, combine the chocolates, espresso mixture, and rum over a saucepan of simmer water. Stir until smooth. Remove, and set aside.
• Over the same saucepan of simmering water, combine the eggs and granulated sugar in a large heatproof bowl. Beat, using a handheld electric mixer, until thick, fluffy, and almost tripled in volume.
• Whip the cream in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla.
• Fold the melted-chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Transfer to prepared pan. Place a large roasting pan in the oven, and fill 1 inch with boiling water. Immediately set the heart pan in the roasting pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
• Remove from oven, and let cool in the water bath. When cool, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
• Just before serving, uncover the pan, and warm slightly in an inch of warm water to loosen from pan. Invert onto a platter. Pipe the sweetened whipped cream onto the chocolate heart with a decorative tip, if desired.