Nesting Heart Cake

Posted 2017-07-03 by Naomi ⇒ follow

Light, fluffy, vanilla flavoured, deep purple nesting heart cakes with red and orange icing. The smaller heart cake has a surprise strawberry filling.

These special symbolic cakes are great for anniversaries, Valentine's Day, baby showers, Mother's Day or birthdays. The colours can be changed to match the celebration. They are low FODMAP, gluten and lactose free.

[Image1 Light, fluffy, delicious and great for any celebration]

Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Serves 1 large heart ring and 1 smaller heart

Ingredients
5 eggs
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups cornflour (gluten free)
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 cup [Linkhttp://recipeyum.com.au/double-choc-chip-cookies-with-strawberry-filling/ strawberry filling] or jam
Blue, red and yellow food colouring
2 cups icing sugar
3 tbsp nuttelex or butter
2 - 4 tbsp milk (lactose free or water)

Method
To make the cake

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease a 22 cm tall, 23 cm wide and 7 cm deep heart shaped cake tin.

Beat the eggs and vanilla essence for 10 - 12 minutes until the eggs have tripled in size, are pale and fluffy.

Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until dissolved.

Add 8 parts red and 4 parts blue food colouring and beat to combine.

Sift the cornflour and baking powder four times, to make the cake fluffy. Fold into the egg mixture to combine.

Pour the batter into the cake tin.

[Image9 The food colouring will make a deep purple batter]

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, until the centre springs back when touched and the edge starts to come off the side of the tin.

Turn the cake out on a piece of baking paper on a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the [Linkhttp://recipeyum.com.au/double-choc-chip-cookies-with-strawberry-filling/ strawberry filling] and allow to cool.

To make the nesting heart cakes

Place a knife 4 - 5 cm from the edge of the cake and make a 2 mm deep outline of a small heart.

Cut the smaller heart following the outline. Gently push the heart out, taking care not to break the large heart ring.

[Image10 Make an outline, cut and separate the cakes]

Cut the small heart in half horizontally. Spread strawberry filling or jam evenly on one half and sandwich the top on.

[Image12]

Beat the icing sugar, butter, 2 tbsp milk into a bowl until fluffy and combined. Add more milk to make more glossy, if required. Set aside 1/3 of the mixture.

Add 48 drops of red and 2 drops of yellow food colouring to 2/3 of the mixture. Stir to combine. Spread on the large heart ring.

Add 8 drops of red, 24 drops of yellow food colouring to the remaining 1/3 of the icing. Stir to combine. Spread on the small heart.

Place the hearts on lined serving platter. Add candles or decorate if desired.

Serve the cake with cream or ice cream. Enjoy!