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Hidden Heart Valentine’s Pound Cake

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Making a Valentines cake is always a fun surprise but this version truly has a surprise inside! Hidden Heart Valentines Pound Cake shows your love when slicing; a heart in every serving! Works with gluten-free or other cake mixes.Hidden Heart Valentine's Pound Cake. Chocolate loaf cake with a cherry pound cake heart hidden in the middle! - BoulderLocavore.com

I have been chomping at the bit to get into Valentine’s food. I have always loved Valentine’s Day. It is such a happy occasion, just dwelling on love with the color pink abounding everywhere.

Ever since I was a child I’ve relished creating Valentine’s cards with secret messages in conversation heart candies and hours of artistry ensuring no one was missed. The proof of that is in the Valentine’s recipes available on BoulderLocavore.com!

Valentines Heart Pound Cake, Valentines cake with a heart in the slices

Sometime last fall a clever photo on Pinterest caught my attention.

There was no corresponding recipe or article so I’m not even exactly sure what it was.

It looked like maybe some seasonal bread with a spice bread pumpkin shape in the middle.

I was instantly smitten. Loving anything ‘with a surprise inside’ I marveled at what a delight it would be to cut into a loaf of bread and find a pumpkin.

Hidden Heart Valentine's Pound Cake. A chocolate pound Valentines cake with a pink heart in the middle

As time goes, the whirlwind of the holidays whisked the image from my memory until recently when I was experimenting with some gluten free pound cake mixes. Though I love to make everything I can from scratch, it’s not always possible in the life of a busy mom-blogger.

When I can I like to try out mixes so if I’m in a pinch I have a ‘go to’ selection and am not experimenting late the night before a special treat is due somewhere early the next day, knowing from experience not all gluten free mixes are created equal.

Hidden Heart Valentine's Pound Cake. Chocolate loaf cake with a cherry pound cake heart hidden in the middle

During my experimentation the bread-in-the-bread popped to mind again. I also have a passion for figuring things out, re-engineering and repurposing so decided to couple the two endeavors together to see if I couldn’t pull off a gluten free Valentines-themed surprise; a Valentines cake with a surprise heart inside.

I’m NOT a fancy baker. I admire ‘Martha’ and the rest of the beautiful bakers out in cyberspace who create flawless confections that look to be made from porcelain but have come to terms with the fact that knack does not dwell actively (or dormantly) in my culinary DNA.

I’m more of a rustic dessert girl. Being that as it is, I generally have low expectations that anything hinting at a fussy creation will work at my more broad-brush baking hand.

Can Hidden Heart Cake be Gluten-Free?

YES! In fact the cake shown in the photos IS gluten-free.

The technique can be used for any cake mix. I chose pound cake due to it having more substance and feeling it would stand up to the technique best.

Valentines cake made with chocolate pound cake and pink cherry hearts in the middle of each slice

How to Make Hidden Heart Pound Cake

All the specific steps to make Hidden Heart Valentine’s cake are in the recipe below (it’s printable too). Here is a high level summary:

hidden heart cake process shots collage

  • The pink cherry-flavored pound cake is baked and sliced the depth of the cookie cutter being used. Example: if the cookie cutter is 1-inch deep, the cake slices should be 1-inch. (photo 1)
  • Slice the entire pink pound cake and cut out hearts from all slices. Set the extra parts of the slice aside to eat OR make pound cake bread pudding! (photo 2)
  • Mix the chocolate pound cake batter and spoon some in the bottom of the loaf pan.
  • With a helper, line up the  pink cake hearts with the bottom point in the chocolate batter and the hearts next to each other (no spaces). NOTE: there will be space in the front and back however to take a photo the pan was on its side so no space shows on the bottom of the pan in the photo above. (photo 3)
  • Fill in the rest of the pan, spooning the chocolate cake better on either side of the pink hearts to support them then covering them on top.
  • Bake and cool as specified in the recipe card below. Slice and enjoy (photo 4)!

After carefully engineering what I hoped would be an unexpected, smile-invoking confection I crossed my fingers and pulled out the serrated knife. Mere words cannot express my excitement when cutting into the molten-brown, chocolately pound cake to reveal a brilliant fuchsia heart beaming from the center of every slice.

I witnessed the magic of the surprise on the faces of my familial taste testers as well. As enchanting as is the visual is of this pound cake, the flavor is truly the star. Deep, dark chocolate enveloping a glorious cherry-flavored heart. Yin and yang, kismet, meant to be; two flavors comingled in their destiny to create a happy bite.

Hidden Heart Valentine's Pound Cake. Chocolate loaf cake with a cherry pound cake heart hidden in the middle! - BoulderLocavore.com

How to Make Hidden Heart Valentines Cake Recipe – Step by Step:

Hidden Heart Valentine's Pound Cake. Chocolate loaf cake with a cherry pound cake heart hidden in the middle! - BoulderLocavore.com
5 from 10 votes
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Hidden Heart Valentine’s Pound Cake

A whimsical Valentine's chocolate pound cake with a cherry-flavored heart hidden inside. Sure to surprise and delight all! Can be easily tailored to any dietary needs based on the recipe or mix you choose to use. Note: Cooking and preparation times are estimates; actual time will dependend on the recipes you select.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword heart inside pound cake, hidden heart pound cake, Valentine's cake
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes
Servings 10
Calories 173 kcal
Author Toni Dash

Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • Favorite Vanilla or Butter Pound Cake recipe or mix (1 loaf)*
  • Favorite Chocolate Pound Cake recipe or mix (1 loaf)**
  • 1/8 teaspoon Pink Food Coloring (I used Wilton ‘Rose’)
  • ½ teaspoon – 1 tablespoon Cherry Extract

Supplies:

  • Heart-shaped Cookie Cutter (3 ½ inches at the widest spot by 3 inches tall)
  • Serrated Knife
  • Loaf pan

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to the temperature specified for the butter or vanilla pound cake.
  2. Assemble the vanilla pound cake per the recipe or mix directions. To make the brilliant fuchsia heart, add 1/8 teaspoon Wilton Rose coloring to the mix (if desiring a more tame pink, begin to add small amounts dipped from the container with a toothpick, mix and add more if needed; it is very concentrated coloring). Mix incorporating the color uniformly in the batter.
  3. Begin adding cherry flavoring by the ½ teaspoon until reaching desired flavor. Note: I used a natural Cherry flavoring and wanted a strong cherry flavor to stand up to the chocolate in the outer cake so ended up using 1 tablespoon.
  4. Pour batter into a prepared loaf pan. Bake as instructed in recipe or mix directions. Remove, cool and remove from the pan. Allow to cool completely.
  5. Reheat oven to specified temperature for the chocolate pound cake recipe or mix.
  6. Place cherry pound cake on a cutting board. Using the depth of the heart cookie cutter as a guide, cut the pound cake into slices the same thickness as the cookie cutter (e.g. my cookie cutter is 1 inch deep so I made slices that were 1 inch thick).
  7. Place each slice flat on the cutting board and using the cookie cutter cut one heart out of each slice. Set aside scraps.
  8. Butter a loaf pan the same size or larger than the pan used for the cherry pound cake. Place cherry pound cake hearts in the middle of the prepared pan; point down, back-to-back touching each other.
  9. Prepare the chocolate pound cake recipe or mix according to the directions.
  10. This step is easiest accomplished with a helper! Begin on one end of the loaf pan, with one person holding the hearts upright on their point, place a spoonful of batter on one side of the first heart and then a spoonful on the opposite of the first heart. Proceed up the pan in this manner until there is a small amount of batter on either side of all the hearts; this will stabilize the hearts and ensure they stay on their point during baking. Fill in the remaining batter on both sides and cover the top of the hearts. Note: the top may be rounded due to the shape of the top of the hearts.
  11. Bake the pound cake to the directions for the chocolate pound cake. Check for doneness earlier than suggested. Due to the pre-baked cherry pound cake center the pound cake may done earlier than if baking regularly.
  12. Remove from oven; allow to cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack. Remove from pan and cool completely before slicing. Note: I found the gluten free pound cake sliced best after refrigerating. Can be kept in the refrigerator tightly wrapped for up to a week or frozen and then defrosted to be eaten at a later date.
  13. In the next Boulder Locavore post will be a recipe to use up the leftover scraps of the Cherry Pound Cake!

Recipe Notes

*{Gluten Free} For the Cherry Pound Cake I used Pamela’s Classic Vanilla Cake Mix prepared to the ‘Pamela’s Pound Cake’ instructions on the package.

**{Gluten Free} For the Chocolate Pound Cake I used Pamela’s Chocolate Cake Mix prepared to the ‘Pamela’s Decadent Chocolate Pound Cake’ instructions on the package.

Nutrition Facts
Hidden Heart Valentine’s Pound Cake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 173 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g 2%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 61mg 20%
Sodium 321mg 13%
Potassium 59mg 2%
Total Carbohydrates 36g 12%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 22g
Protein 3g 6%
Vitamin A 1.8%
Calcium 4.2%
Iron 9.1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Hidden Heart Valentine's Pound Cake is a cherry-chocolate cake with pink pound cake hearts hidden inside. It's a fun cake with a great surprise in every bite! Gluten-free or regular cake mix may be used. #ValentinesDay #heart #chocolatecake #dessertrecipe
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  5. Wow, this is so pretty and impressive! I always wondered how to make a cake like this. Thanks for solving the mystery!

    Reply

    • Thank you Colleen! I realized afterwards if you don’t care if the heart is on its point, you could also lay them on their sides, like ‘Lazy Heart Pound Cake’! I like them like them standing at attention though even though it’s a bit trickier to make.

      Reply

  9. thank you for posting this! i saw the exact same picture of the pumpkin one. i had got to thinking a few weeks back on how i wanted to make that but for valentines day. pink heart and all. you read my mind! i have been trying to figure out how to make the hearts stand up on their own. this will help me when i go to make mine! so thank you for this!

    Reply

  17. How adorable and delicious does that look! I can’t wait to make it and surprise my “valentine” birthday boy! Thank you for the wonderful idea.

    Reply

    • Thank you!! I found the pumpkin cake/bread so charming and was disappointed when I clicked for an original link and it went nowhere. Maybe for the best; I’d never copy someone else’s work and republish and this gave me the determination to figure out a gluten-free method to make something similar. When you say you knew some crafty baker would take your idea, are you SheKnows.com? I’ll go take a peek now. Would love to see how similar the approach was.

      Reply

  19. I have been searching for something to send to my grandaughters for valentines day and this looks perfect! Can you tell me where I can find chocolate pound cake mix ? The only brand my 2 local stores sell is a duncan hines regular pound cake mix.

    Reply

    • Hi Christine. What a great surprise for your Granddaughter! I am gluten free so used the Pamela’s mixes cited in the recipe notes. They are regular cake mixes but provide preparation methods for pound cake. You might look at the mixes you found to see if they do the same or certainly if you have a scratch recipe you could use that as well!

      Reply

  21. For those who don’t like chocolate cake, I want to see if this work the same with vanilla pound cake for both the heart and the surrounding cake.

    Is it possible that the pink heart would tinge the white cake? I want the lines of the heart to stay clean if possible!

    Reply

    • Sarah I have only made what I’ve shared here however since the inner pink heart is fully cooked when encased within the outer mix I would not think it would ‘bleed’ though could not say for sure.

      Reply

  23. I love this and called my friend to send it to her for Valentine’s day. Awesome!

    The only thing is, when I try to share this on Facebook it doesn’t come with a photo – I wonder why? Maybe the buttons or the post?

    Tara

    Reply

    • Thank you Tara! I think what you are describing is a Facebook glitch; I’ve had the same thing happen periodically myself. Maybe try again tomorrow? I’ve done nothing special to the post that would prohibit a thumbnail to pop up when you post the link.

      Reply

  25. Cute idea! Did you ever try making one of each flavor, then cutting out the shape after slicing each, and inserting the heart on the plate? I know it wouldn’t hold together as nice as yours tho.

    Reply

  28. I tried this for an Anniversary party that I was doing a dessert table for! The husband’s favorite cake is pound cake. I was dissappointed that he wanted pound cake because I couldn’t think of how to make pound cake pretty. I searched the internet for ways to dress up a pound cake and came across your cake and bells went off in my head! I HAD to try it! My first attempt ended with a cake still raw on the bottom (I didnt know until I tried to remove it from the pan). But I still cut it and PERFECTION! So I gave it another try the next morning, this time baking longer at a lower temp. PERFECTION!!! It was a hit! You can see pics on my blog galagalcleveland.blogspot.com. Thank You!!!!!!!

    Reply

      • I think there is an insulation effect when baking the hearts inside the outer cake. As noted in the recipe, the outer cake may be done before indicated on the box or recipe you use since the middle of the cake is already cooked. I would check it early for doneness. It has turned out perfectly each time I’ve made it and I’ve noted other websites/blogs who have used my same technique after I published the recipe with the same end result!

        Reply

  29. Sadly mine didn’t turn out well 🙁
    I think the hearts were too small…
    oh well! Thanks for this recipe! 😀 I’ll definitely try it again!

    Reply

    • Oh no Gwen! Can you tell me more? I’m happy to try to help troubleshoot. I’ve made the recipe numerous times with no issue. I’ve also seen variations of it now on the internet using different size hearts and different types of cake that have turned out beautifully. Please send me an email if you want my help trying to figure out what went wrong.

      Reply

        • I checked the Email Boulder Locavore box in the sidebar and it is working Gwen. I’m sorry you are having difficulties. Feel free to try it again if you wish. Good luck on the baking!

          Reply

    • I think you could make hearts from Brownies Daraya I just don’t know how well the overall pound cake would bake due to the pound cake and brownies being different consistencies. If you try it please let me know how it works!

      Reply

  33. What an amazingly creative way to up the ante on pound cake! I have a cookbook with recipes for cakes that have designs inside, but it really intimidated me. This recipe with the step-by-step photos is inspiring and confidence-building rather than intimidating. Many thanks!

    Reply

  35. Wouldn’t it be a whole lot easier to just carve a heart shaped “log” down the length of your pink pound cake? You could use your cookie cutter as a guide. Then you wouldn’t need help holding all those hearts together while you poured in the chocolate pound cake. One hand to hold the log on it’s point and one hand to ladle in the batter. Makes a lot more sense and I’d think it would save a lot of time.

    Reply

    • I think your idea is a good one Linda however I do not know how you would push a cookie cutter all the way through the pound cake. Also since I only bake gluten-free, the texture of the cake is different and I do not believe the pound cake would hold together for that tactic. If you try your method please leave us a comment and let us know how it works! I can say the method shared in the recipe here is not difficult and has worked every time.

      Reply

  38. i’m not going to have someone helping to hold the hearts and i got to thinking that i could try putting the hearts in upside down. haven’t tried your darling cake idea yet, but plan to tomorrow. am thinking another thing would be to pour some cake into the bottom, then put hearts in and line them up…will see what happens. thanks for the idea, though!

    Reply

    • I thought of the same idea about the hearts Eileen (turning them upside down) as they’d be more stable that way but I really wanted them facing up then the cake was cut. Also if you look at the photo you’ll see when I added a bit of batter to steady the hearts at the bottom (in the recipe) it does cause the hearts to float up a bit and they can poke out the top if too much batter is added to the bottom. I’m sure you’ll work it out; just passing along tips from my experimentations!

      Reply


  39. Hi Toni, could you please tell me the measurements of your loaf pan. Most of the pans are 2.75 deep and the cookie cutters are mostly larger in size. I’ve been dying to bake one of these types of cake but unable to get hold of right kind of loaf pan and cookie cutter if you could guide or would be really helpful.

    Reply

    • Hi Nayana. I can certainly do that and get back to you (not at home at the minute). I did look up loaf pan sizing and in deed there are three sizes. My guess it the one I used may be larger but will post here when I’m able to measure it.

      Reply


  43. I made a version of your cake for Christmas, but now I’m going to use the heart cutter and make one for Valentine’s Day! I know my family will love it!

    Reply
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