I am trying to get a head of the game a little and bake and write up some lovely recipes for Valentines, starting with this ‘Pretty in Pink’ Cake, of course you can make it any colour that you wish, but for this occasion I thought pink would be just right.

Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I, in 496 AD. It was deleted from the General Roman Calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery and of course cakes & cookies in our house, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines”).

Rosie and I had the really lovely idea of baking some lovely Valentines treats for our other halves, but unfortunately they are both on diets, fortunately we are not, which means we are going to bake them anyway and stuff the lot ourselves, LOL!

I love the idea of baking something pretty for Valentines Day for Hubby, but I don’t like to save this little treat for just one day a year, baking for loved ones should be done as often as you like and such a lovely way to show someone how much you care for them.

So please watch this space as over the next couple of weeks I hope to bake and blog some really lovely treats that I hope will inspire you to bake for the one you love. For starters here is a gorgeous chocolate cake, smothered in a baby pink frosting, just perfect for Valentines, to make it really special why not bake it in the shape of a heart.

Happy Baking.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the cake:
100g spreadable butter, plus extra for greasing
250ml milk
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
100g plain chocolate, melted
15g cocoa powder, sifted (I always use Green & Blacks)
300g self-raising flour, sifted
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, sifted
225g golden caster sugar
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 190c, fan 160c, gas 4.

Grease a 20cm round, deep cake tin and line with baking paper.

Mix the milk and vinegar together.

Place all the other ingredients in a large mixing bowl (thank god for my Artisan). Pour in the milk mixture and beat with an electric mixer or hand whisk until smooth. I tend to beat the ingredients in the bowl together for a couple of seconds first and then dribble in the milk mixture slowly, but its up to you, both ways work equally as well. Once smooth spread into three 8 inch cake tin’s and bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until firm in the centre.

Cool for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the frosting:
3 cups (660 g) white sugar
1 cup water
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)
4 egg whites
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting, combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Cook until candy thermometer reaches 242 degrees F (115 degrees C) or until a teaspoon of mixture dropped into cold water forms a ball when removed from water. Add cream of tartar and a pinch of salt to the egg white, and beat them until stiff. Add hot syrup in a slow stream, beating constantly. Stir in vanilla. Use approximately one fifth of the frosting between each layer of the cake, coat the cake with the remaining two fifths of the frosting.

Cool the cake in the fridge. Place the cake at room temperature 1-2 hours before it is served.