Pink Heart Cake

I decided to bake a cake in my oven, sad that I use it for baking a cake rarely. I thought it would be great if I bake a Heart shaped cake as Valentines Day, day meant to celebrate LOVE is around the corner! I don't feel that it is the only day to express love but somehow it has become a trend to express your love on this day to your beloved. Well, I was in an idea to bake a red velvet cake, but I din't get access to good color here. I was in a mood to bake and when I have decided none could stop me. I got a small heart shaped cake tin recently, just because there are no takers for cake at my house. Even I'm not a great fan but my kiddo loves it, she loved this cake alot. As the cake baked, she was running all around jumping in joy that she is going to eat a cake. I didn't do any frosting, rather went ahead with icing just to give a glaze using custard and a dollop of cream. Without much ado let me jump to the recipe.

Makes 2 such hearts

Ingredients:
All purpose flour- 1¼ cup
Corn Starch- 2 tbsp.
Baking powder-½ tsp.
Salt-little less than ¼ tsp.
Butter-¼ cup
Sugar-¾ cup
Buttermilk- ¾ cup
Vanilla essence- ½ tsp.
Red color- use accordingly to get the required color(just very few drops will give pink coloring)
Baking Soda- ¼ tsp.
Lemon Juice-2 tsp.
Custard powder-1 tsp.
Milk-1/2 cup
Icing sugar-3 tbsp.
Whipping cream-as required
Sprinkles (heart shaped)- as required

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F. Dust the baking tin by applying butter and adding little all purpose flour and dusting the entire pan at base as well as the sides. Sieve together all purpose flour, corn starch, baking powder. Add salt and mix well.
2. In a bowl cream together butter and sugar. In another bowl add red coloring and buttermilk and mix well.
3. To the creamed butter and sugar mixture add vanilla essence and just half the portion of the buttermilk mixture a little and whisk.
4. Followed by that add dry ingredients in step 1 to the wet creamed mixture. Fold in the dry ingredients. Continue adding again wet and dry ingredients alternatively till done. At this stage do not whisk vigorously. Now add lemon juice to the baking soda and add the solution to the cake batter. Just give a gentle mix.
5. Immediately transfer the batter to the dusted baking tin.
6. Just pat the baking tin and the cake batter spreads by itself.
7. Transfer it into the oven and place it in the middle rack and bake for around 28 minutes.
8. Check if it is well baked by inserting a toothpick.
9. If yes, it comes out clean. If not bake for some more time till done. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and cool completely.
10. Boil  ¼ cup of milk. To prepare the custard glaze by adding custard powder to ¼ cup milk and add it to the boiling ¼ cup and cook till the mixture becomes a little think like custard. Remove from fire, cool and add the icing sugar to it and mix well.
11. Place the cake on an inverted plate to do the icing.
12. Add the completely cooled custard glaze prepared on top of the cooled cake.

This is how it looks on adding the layer of custard glaze.

Let it rest for an hour or more in cool area/refrigerator and then add a dollop of whipped cream on top and spread well through out to form a thin layer above the custard glaze

Decorate in the center with little extra cream and with sprinkles heart.

Notes:

1. As I had used a small baking tin, I had to bake twice to get the two cakes from the ingredients mentioned above, to bake just one heart cake half the amount mentioned would be sufficient.
2. Immediately after the lemon juice is added to baking soda, the mixture is to be added to the batter and mixed and transferred to the baking tin.
3. As I had to bake it twice, I had divided the batter into 2 parts and added the lemon juice and baking soda mixture to each of the two portions just before baking.
4. You could very well avoid glaze, whipped cream and sprinkles. I just used what I had. You could even do frosting, it would look great.
5. Always use the ingredients especially butter and buttermilk at room temperature.
6. Do not use thin or skimmed buttermilk, preferably one with fat.

Enjoy the dish! n don't forget Eat and Eat little MORE.. :)