Strawberry Hearts Pound Cake

This special recipe starts with strawberry pound cake, sliced and cut into heart shapes, and then baked inside another buttery pound cake and drizzled with chocolate ganache. Each slice contains a sweet Valentine’s Day surprise!

Yield: 1 Bundt cake

Ingredients

Strawberry Pound Cake

• 1 cup strawberry puree (from 10 ounces fresh or frozen strawberries)
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
• 1 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)

Vanilla Bundt Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs, + 1 egg yolk

Chocolate Ganache

• 3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter and flour.

Strawberry Pound Cake

1. Place strawberries in food processor and pulse until smooth. Set aside one cup of puree.
2. In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat sugar and butter for 3 minutes with paddle attachment until smooth and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until batter looks curdled. Add 1/3 of flour mixture, and then 1/2 of sour cream, another 1/3 flour mixture, remainder of sour cream, then last of flour mixture. Add strawberry extract and food coloring to combine (may add more to intensify color).
4. Fold in half strawberry puree; then fold in remainder of strawberry puree.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.
6. Cool to room temperature. Cut into 1-inch slices, discarding ends. Using a small cookie cutter, cut – into heart shapes. You should get 2 to 3 hearts per slice depending on size of cutter. Set hearts aside and prepare following cake.

Vanilla Bundt Cake

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare Bundt pan with butter and flour. Ensure all crevices are buttered.
2. In a medium bowl, sift flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, vanilla extract and lemon juice; set aside.
4. In the bowl of electric mixture, beat butter and sugar for 3 minutes with paddle attachment until pale and fluffy.
5. Beat in eggs one at a time.
6. Add 1/3 of flour, and then 1/2 buttermilk mixture; another 1/3 flour mixture, then remainder of buttermilk and then remaining flour mixture.
7. Pour half of batter into prepared Bundt pan. Place Strawberry Pound Cake hearts upside-down in the batter. Spoon remainder of batter over hearts. If heart tips are sticking out of batter, don’t worry. The cake will bake over them.
8. Bake for 1 hour.
9. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn over, remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Chocolate Ganache

1. Chop chocolate into small pieces. Heat cream in small pot until milk boils. Pour over chocolate and allow to sit for 2 minutes. Add butter and stir until smooth and glossy. Pour over Bundt cake.

Attribution

Recipe and photo used with permission from: American Butter Institute
By Karyn, Pint Sized Baker