Out & About #975 | Hidden Heart Pound Cake

​Without any intentions of pushing the boundaries of a Wednesday evening pre-office sleep schedule, I had deemed Valentine's Day another ordinary day as far as celebratory festivities. However, the other half of the recently-formed, soon-to-pilates duo clearly had other thoughts, albeit unclear expectations.

​Hallmark holidays often fill the air with some degree of spirit, whether it be spooky, gleeful, or spring-seeking, like the imminent Easter weekend. When it comes to the ever-pink, love-filled holiday, businesses often utilize the opportunity to release themed merchandise or limited-time sets. While exclusivity piques intrigue, the proposals put forth aren't necessarily the most interesting of concepts.

​Despite enjoying the emphasis on chocolate, including Laderach's beautifully arranged truffle gift boxes, the rose bouquets, corny messages, and supposedly romantic evenings out often seem to constitute more hassle than enjoyment.
My personal approach to any holiday is the construction of themed creations. Valentine's Day is quite restrictive in this regard, with a palette centred about red and varying amounts of white pigment mixed within and characterized by gaudy-looking hearts, arrows, Cupids, and everything in between. Desserts often receive the spotlight on this day, frequently adopting the forms of chocolate cake, rose petal-topped mousses, or bouquet-able candy hearts.

I've been known to scoff at heart-shaped creations, purely since, from the perspective of a baker, the process of forming specific shapes leads to:

• Odd-shaped scraps that can't really be repurposed (without significant alterations)
• A shape-specific cutter or pan that will hardly see usage except during seasonal periods
• Extra labour without noticeable payoff in complexity or flavour.

These factors were not to be excluded in my iteration of a Hidden Heart Pound Cake.
Although griping incessantly about the peculiar-shaped leftovers from crafting theme-specific shapes, I proceeded to do just that - since, technically, the process, albeit tedious, wasn't a tremendous challenge.

The main cake adopted the form of Sunday Baking's trusty Condensed Milk Pound Cake. This recipe has been referenced time and time again, and for good reason. It's a solid formula that can be crafted with common household ingredients and utilizes no more than one heat-proof bowl, a whisk, and a spatula. (The hand mixer is optional, but recommended to ease wrist strain.)

Used to form the heart-shaped interior was Sunday's Chocolate Pound Cake recipe, which dates back to 2016. She has since released a handful of new chocolate pound cakes (gluten-free, almond crunch-coated, and more), but this version was exceptionally straightforward in nature, and involved the same roster of ingredients as the basic brownie.

Operating in a daze meant melting chocolate couverture with butter instead of creaming the butter with sugar first. In spite of the blunder, I persevered, incorporating the remainder of the ingredients in a brownie batter-like fashion. My own additions included 29 g of finely chopped, toasted pecans (leftover from making Carrot Pound Cake), a splash of rum (because why not?), and plenty of red food colouring (that made no visual difference in the final product).

The yield was a slab that rose minimally, just to half the height of the loaf pan. Nevertheless, the edges were crunchy and the interior moist and perfectly chocolatey - as expected of a Sunday concoction!

​To facilitate cooling, I cranked open the nearby window and allowed the steam to dissipate. In review of my freshly-baked chocolate slab, it dawned on me that the originally intended parchment heart cutout would no longer be feasible.
Thinkingly quickly, I pivoted to my mini heart cookie cutter. The slab was sliced lengthwise, then again into segments roughly measuring one inch in thickness. I'd pivot to construct three mini loaves instead.

19 mini hearts, ostensibly textured from the introduction of pecans, would materialize from the Chocolate Pound Cake; 5-6 of them would be arranged lengthwise in the greased loaf pans, stabilized only with a thin layer of batter on the bottom. These smaller scale servings would then be subject to a baking time of 25-30 minutes at 350 F (or 365 F for my fluctuating oven).

​In spite of a darker-than-desired surface, tenderness was not comprised whatsoever. As expected of the Condensed Milk Pound Cake recipe, the crumb was buttery, aromatic, and, most importantly, a beautifully uniform, plush texture. Once cooled completely, the mini cakes were carefully removed from my not-nonstick Walmart pans. Even with the comprehensive greasing, its edges had stuck, causing the corners and edges to peel nominally.

​Although I could have left them as is, the associated chocolate glaze is compulsory for an elevated gustatory experience: The crunchy chocolate coating is simply an element you cannot unlearn after tasting it once!
Sunday's specified quantities tend to yield a more fluid topping than desired, so a few drops of oil are often sufficient for my needs. The increased viscosity also reduces the setting time required.

Be mindful towards the allocated time for construction, as the glaze will need at least 4-5h to completely set. Any longer than this amount (ie. overnight) will be unfavourable and can cause cracking when slicing.

​Results were superior to my first attempt, for the hearts could be identified with clarity upon slicing. Some had shifted in the baking process, relocating a bit higher in the cross-section due to rising of the batter or rotating along a plane, while some were partially obscured by the outer layer of batter - an indication that the heart slices had not been packed together tightly enough.

​The edges of the cakes revealed distorted shapes, but, for the vast majority, visual appearances were acceptable. Distinct was the hidden heart, and delectable was its chocolatey, rum-enhanced properties. Overall, the project was a success, despite not assuming the textbook standard title. The recipient was surprised and later expressed gratitude.

Notes

• Be prepared for a lengthy construction process. Constructing both batters, forming the inner layer, doing dishes, and baking the cakes one after another spanned approximately 2.5 hours. That said, I baked one standard loaf (35 minutes) and three mini loaves (30 minutes). More time should be allocated should the glazing component be included (minimum 5h chill time).
• Pound cake recipes are ideal for this application, as the crumb is often structured but remains tender.
• To conserve time, the second batter can be constructed while the first is baking, assuming that baking powder plays a part in its formulation, and chilled until needed. Naturally aerated cakes (eggs stabilized with sugar) or those containing baking soda (usually loaves such as banana bread or carrot cake) must be baked shortly after mixing.
• Slice the layers for the inner component no thicker than the depth of the cookie cutter being used. Forcibly pressing the cookie cutter through thick layers promotes crumb fall and inhibits clean edges.
• Transferring the batter for the outer layer to a piping bag facilitates filling gaps around the shapes without shifting their placement and encouraging crumb fallout, ultimately making for a pristine process and final result.