My relationship with Valentine’s Day has transformed over the years. When I was a child, I joyfully skipped home from school with my bounty of tiny Valentine cards, candy hearts and a cupcake someone’s mother baked. As I grew older, I was hot and cold towards Valentine’s Day, depending on the state of my love life at the time. After having kids, Valentine’s Day became about red construction paper, doily hearts and glue sticks. I happily cleaned up sprinkles and kissed chubby, frosting-stained cheeks. Now I think of Valentine’s Day as simply a day to celebrate love. I embrace Valentine’s Day and all the hearts, roses and chocolates that go with it! Show your loved ones that you love them on Valentine’s Day, but more importantly, show them throughout the year, by loving, respecting and accepting them for who they are every day.
If your heart beats for a chocolate lover, then this Valentine cake for two will have them swooning. It’s small in size, but grand in chocolate indulgence. It has three layers of moist chocolate cake, rich, white chocolate buttercream and a silky chocolate glaze. As if that isn’t enough, I loaded the top with chocolate candy! Some of the candy is store bought and some I made with candy melts and chocolate molds. Click here to find the cherub mold. Click here to find the heart mold.
I hope you share this Valentine cake with someone you love! However you celebrate the day and whoever you love, have a happy one!
| Prep Time | 1 hour |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Passive Time | 1 1/2 hours |
| Servings |
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- 2/3 cup (3 ounces) all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (1 ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 cup (5.25 ounces) sugar
- 1 small egg
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup hot coffee
- 6 ounces white chocolate, chopped
- 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 2/3 cup (3 ounces) powdered sugar, sifted
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon corn syrup or honey
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake for Two
White Chocolate Buttercream
Chocolate Drip Glaze
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- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease & flour three 4-inch cake pans. *See note below.
- Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Add sugar and stir to combine.
- Combine egg, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Whisk lightly to combine.
- Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix on low speed with a handheld electric mixer, until combined. Stop mixer. Scrape sides of bowl with spatula. Turn mixer up to medium speed and beat for 1 minute.
- Add hot coffee and stir until incorporated.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pans, dividing batter evenly between the pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool.
- Melt white chocolate in a double boiler over gently simmering water. (Alternately, you can melt the white chocolate in the microwave. In a small microwaveable bowl, heat the white chocolate for 30 seconds, then stir. Heat again for 10 second intervals, stirring until melted, being very careful not to overheat it.)
- Set white chocolate aside to cool until lukewarm and still soft.
- In a medium bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and creamy.
- Add vanilla extract, salt and melted white chocolate. Beat at low speed until combined. Stop mixer. Scrape sides of bowl with spatula.
- Add powdered sugar. Beat at low speed, until powdered sugar is combined. Beat at medium speed until buttercream is smooth, stopping to scrape the bowl occasionally. Keep covered at room temperature until ready to use.
- When cakes have cooled completely, trim the cake layers to 1-inch tall.
- Attach one of the layers to a cake board with some of the white chocolate buttercream. Apply 1/4-inch thick layer of buttercream to the top of the cake layer, followed by the second cake layer, another 1/4-inch thick layer of buttercream, then the final cake layer.
- Apply a crumb coat (thin layer) of buttercream to the cake. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Frost the cake with the remaining buttercream. Apply chocolate sprinkles to the bottom edge of the cake.
- Melt chocolate drip glaze ingredients together in a double boiler over gently simmering water. Let cool slightly.
- Spoon chocolate glaze into a piping bag. Snip off the end of the bag with kitchen scissors. Drizzle chocolate glaze along the edges of the perimeter of the cake, then fill in the middle. Smooth top with a small offset spatula.
- Top cake with assorted chocolate candy. If desired, you can stack some of the candy and adhere them with melted chocolate to give some variation in height.