Peanut Butter Cup Heart Valentine Cake Recipe 445

PEANUT BUTTER CUP HEART VALENTINE CAKE RECIPE - (4.4/5)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. Batter will be thin. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire rack. Cool completely. Tint frosting to desired shade of pink with several drops red food color. Frost cake. Cut desired size heart from wax paper. Lightly place on surface of cake (do not press into cake). Use edge of knife or toothpick to outline heart onto frosted cake surface. Remove paper. Place mini peanut butter cups on cake following heart outline.

PEANUT BUTTER CUP CAKE

Steps:

• For the Chocolate Cake:.
• Mix dry ingredients in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add liquid ingredients and mix until incorporated. Scrape bowl in between mixing.
• Bake at 350 F, until toothpick comes out clean and has a bouncy spring when pressed in the middle of the cake.
• For the Peanut Butter Buttercream:.
• Place sterilized stand-up mixing bowl (just make sure it's super clean and dry) with whites on top of a saucepan with water, barely simmering (a.k.a. double boiler).
• Heat to 160 F, constantly stirring. Be sure to watch it and keep stirring or else it'll turn into an omelette.
• Add Cream of Tartar and whip in stand mixer until cool. Place in refrigerator or freezer if necessary, after reaching a medium peak. You can also place the cooked egg whites on an ice bath ahead of time and place it in the refrigerator, then whip it up.
• Place back on whip and gradually add butter, one stick at a time. Make sure the meringue is cold prior to adding it to the mixture or else it will be a soupy mess. The mixture should separate at first (don't be alarmed and freak out). Be patient and keep mixing; it'll come back together. Mix until smooth and well incorporated.
• Add peanut butter and vanilla. Mix until smooth and well incorporated.
• For the Ganache:.
• Place chocolate in a bowl.
• Place heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and heat in microwave until scalding hot. Avoid overboiling.
• Stir lightly until mixture thickens. Set aside to room temperature, ready for spreading on cake.
• For the Assembly:.
• Start with a base of chocolate cake. Make a barrier of buttercream with a piping bag. Fill and spread with a thin layer of peanut butter. Spread a thin layer of ganache on top.
• Place another layer of cake and repeat the process.
• Crumb coat, chill and final coat your cake. Serve and enjoy.

THE ULTIMATE VALENTINE CAKE

Steps:

• To make heart lid:
• Cut heart-shaped piece of waxed paper about 4 inches larger than 8x2-inch bottomless heart-shaped cake pan. Place on cookie sheet. Lightly oil inside of heart pan with vegetable oil. Butter outside of pan. Place heart pan atop paper on cookie sheet. Press waxed paper up onto outside of buttered pan to adhere, to prevent chocolate from leaking out. Place white chocolate in bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water; stir until smooth. Remove from over water. Place bittersweet chocolate in another bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water; stir until smooth. Remove from over water.
• Drop white chocolate by spoonfuls inside heart, spacing apart and allowing some to touch inner edge of pan. Drop bittersweet chocolate by spoonfuls into spaces. Move heart pan gently from side to side to distribute chocolate evenly and fill in heart completely. Swirl mixtures together using tip of knife. Holding cake pan to cookie sheet with hands, tap sheet firmly on counter to flatten chocolate. Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Run small sharp knife around outside of pan to loosen chocolate. Remove pan. Refrigerate chocolate lid until ready to use. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Cover with plastic wrap.)
• To make cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 8x2-inch bottomless heart-shaped cake pan. Cut heart-shaped piece of heavy-duty foil 4 inches larger that heart cake pan. Butter and flour foil. Place on heavy large cookie sheet or double-stacked cookie sheets. Center heart pan on foil. Wrap foil around outsides of pan, folding, pressing and crimping firmly to adhere, to batter from leaking out. Place white chocolate in bowl. Set bowl over sauce-pan of simmering water; stir until smooth. Remove from over water.
• Using electric mixer, beat yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl until pale yellow and slowly dissolving ribbon forms when beaters are lifted, about 3 minutes. Beat in framboise and vanilla, then butter. Add melted chocolate and beat until just combined.
• Using electric mixer fitted with clean dry beaters, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually add remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until just stiff. Mix flour into chocolate mixture (batter will be very thick). Stir in 1/4 of whites to lighten. Gradually fold in remaining whites. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 45 minutes. Cover top with foil. Bake until tip of small knife inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 20 minutes (cake will be well browned). Cool in pan on rack.
• To make icing:
• Melt chocolate, butter and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Stir in framboise. Cool icing until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours.
• Run small sharp knife around cake pan sides to loosen. Cut cake into 2 layers using serrated knife. Place bottom cake layer on platter cut side up. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Cover with top cake layer cut side down. Spread all but 1/2 cup icing over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate cake until icing is set, about 1 hour. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate cake and remaining icing separately. Rewarm icing over very low heat until just spreadable before continuing with recipe.)
• To assemble:
• Mound some hulled strawberries and raspberries on right half of heart cake. Position lid atop berries at angle, moving berries around so that left edge of lid rests on left edge of cake. Tuck half of strawberries with stems, stems facing out, between cake and lid. Spread remaining icing over sides of cake where lid is attached, smoothing with spatula to create boxlike appearance. Reserve remaining strawberries and raspberries for garnish. Refrigerate cake until icing is set, about 1 hour. (Can be assembled 12 hours ahead.)
• To make Berry Compote:
• Toss two 1-pint baskets strawberries with sugar and framboise in large bowl. Chill at least 1 hour or up to 6 hours. Add raspberries and toss gently.
• Arrange reserved berries on platter around cake. Serve cake, spooning compote over each piece.

EASY HEART-SHAPED CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8-inch square pan and an 8-inch round pan. Line bottoms with parchment or wax paper. Grease paper and dust lightly with flour.
• Beat white sugar, butter, vanilla, and almond extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until well combined.
• Stir flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt together in another bowl.
• Beat 1 cup dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined. Add 1/2 cup milk; beat until combined. Continue adding 1 cup dry ingredients and 1/2 cup milk, beating after each addition, until all are used and batter is smooth. Divide evenly between the prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on racks.
• Beat butter and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating after each addition and adding milk as needed, until frosting is fluffy, smooth, and spreadable.
• Remove 1/3 cup frosting and divide between 2 small bowls. Tint 1 dark pink with red food coloring. Tint the other orange-pink with red and yellow food coloring. Tint remaining frosting light pink with red food coloring.
• Set square cake on a work surface and rotate 45 degrees so that it resembles a diamond. Spread a little light pink frosting on left and right top sides of the diamond. Cut round cake in half crosswise to make 2 half-moons. Attach half-moons to top left and top right sides of diamond, gently pressing cake pieces together to adhere. Spread remaining light pink frosting over the assembled cake. Drop spoonfuls of dark pink and pink-orange frosting onto cake. Drag an offset spatula through frosting to create a marbled look.
• Pat sprinkles onto the sides of the cake. Chill, covered, for up to 3 days. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before slicing into 16 pieces.

SWEETHEART CUP COOKIES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Steps:

• Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
• Beat sugar and butter together in a separate bowl using a mixer at low speed. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract. Beat in flour until just blended and press together by hand into a dough. Divide dough into 4 equal portions and flatten each into a disk. Wrap disks individually in plastic and refrigerate 8 hours to overnight.
• Remove 2 disks of dough from the refrigerator; keep remaining dough in the refrigerator or freezer for future use.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray 36 mini muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
• Roll 1 rounded teaspoon of dough into a ball and press into the bottom and up the sides of a mini muffin cup to form a shell. Repeat with remaining dough to make 36 shells.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat peanut butter, confectioners' sugar, and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer until creamy. Pour filling into a pastry bag or a resealable plastic bag with a corner snipped off.
• Remove from the oven and press the end of a wooden spoon into each cookie cup to reshape. Cool 2 minutes in the pan, then carefully transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Fill each cooled cookie cup with about 1 tablespoons filling. Top each with 1 chocolate kiss candy.