A Valentine's Heart For You.

 

Rosie has the perfect heart cake for your Valentine.

Chocolate/coffee/hazelnut on the inside.

Chocolate ganache on the outside.

Cake Ingredients

2 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup ground toasted hazelnuts

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup coffee

Heat oven to 325°.

Prepare a 9-inch round pan and a 9-inch square pan

by buttering and cocoa-ing.

For chocolate cakes,

 instead of using white flour on the pans, I use cocoa.

Combine flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda,

and ground toasted hazelnuts in a medium bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until smooth.

Gradually add in both sugars, beating until combined.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Mix in vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture then buttermilk

into the butter mixture, each in 3 parts,

mixing well after each addition.

Slowly add the coffee and mix until smooth.

Divide batter evenly between the two pans

and bake 35 - 40 minutes,

until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool before removing from pan and frosting.

Chocolate Ganache 

1 10-ounce package of bittersweet chocolate chips

10 ounces heavy cream

Pour chocolate chips into a small bowl.

Heat cream to a simmer,

then pour over chips.

Stir until chips are melted and icing is smooth.

Pour over heart cake and smooth with an offset spatula.

Mix the dry ingredients.

Butter and cocoa the pans.

Lookey!  Lookey!

Two of my eggs had double yolks.

Alternate dry ingredients with ...

... buttermilk.

Slowly add in coffee.

Divide the batter between the two pans

and spread evenly with an offset spatula.

Let cool completely.

Slice the round cake in half.

And make a happy heart!

Trim it up a bit.

Pour the ganache over top and smooth it out.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I decided this needed homemade ice cream.

 I'm not usually into sweets,
but ...  THIS????  ...
I couldn't of enough get!

Don't know why.
Except it was crazy good.

 Vanilla Ice Cream
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup skim milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 TB vanilla
Beat all together until sugar is dissolved.
Pour into quart ice cream freezer and hit the button.
Process away.

Pour into 2 pint-sized containers and freeze.

 Give it some sliced strawberry lovin'.