Oh, my little love cakes, you are so cute. It’s too bad that all of my boyfriends cannot enjoy you. My husband and youngest are allergic to eggs, and my oldest explained to me very clearly that he was more of a “chocolate person”. Therefore, this weekend I will make my vegan chocolate cake with strawberry frosting for the most important men in my life, but I will save you, little love cakes, as a sweet, Valentine’s gift to me. Huzzah!
I adapted this recipe from Bill Yosses’ Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Cream and Raspberries (Food & Wine 2005 issue). If I were to describe these cakes in one word it would be “light”. The vanilla cake itself is soft, tender, and light as air. It’s a cross between an American-style butter cake and Angel food cake. I think what makes it so ethereal is that egg whites are used instead of whole eggs. I also used an all-purpose flour that is made from soft winter wheat (White Lily Flour). Soft winter wheat has a low protein content, so it makes for a more tender cake. The cakes are very much like a Victorian sponge. Instead of raspberry jam, however, I used a delicious raspberry sauce from one of my favorite baking blogs Wicked Good Kitchen. It’s gorgeous, and tangy, which provided a nice zing to the cake. I also added whipped cream, and then sandwiched the two with another cake heart. The last component is a delicious lemon cream that is piped on top. It has a sweet, creamy, citrus taste, which pairs nicely with the raspberries.
Let’s do it. First, I cut out heart shapes from the all-ready baked vanilla cake.
I then took one heart and flipped it to its flatter side.
I piped some best ever raspberry sauce on top. Click here for the recipe.
I topped the raspberry sauce with some lightly sweetened, whipped cream.
Then I placed another heart over top, making sure that the flatter side faced out.
I piped the sweet tangy, lemon cream on top.
And then added three raspberries and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you!
- 3 Large Egg Whites
- ¾ cups Whole Milk
- 2 and ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1 and ¾ cup plus 2 TBS (210 g) Cake Flour, or White Lilly All-Purpose Flour
- 2 and ½ tsp. Baking Powder
- 1 stick plus 1 TBS (128 g) Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1 cup plus 2 TBS (212 g) Granulated Sugar
- ½ tsp. Salt
- 2 Large Eggs
- 2/3 cup (133 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1/3 cup Fresh Lemon Juice
- ¾ tsp. Finely Grated Lemon Zest
- 1 stick plus 3 TBS (156 g) Unsalted Butter, softened
- Whipped Cream
- Raspberry Sauce or ½ cup Seedless Raspberry Jam
- Fresh Raspberries and Powdered Sugar for garnish
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 15” x 10” jelly roll pan. Line the pan with parchment, and then grease the parchment. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk the egg whites with 2 tablespoons of the milk, and the vanilla extract. Pour in the remaining milk and mix. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set both bowls aside.
- In a bowl connected to a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and salt until lighter in color and fluffy (about 7 minutes). Add the dry ingredients and the egg white mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time. Be sure to alternate between the dry and wet (beginning and ending with the flour).
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and with an off-set spatula, smooth out the top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden in color, and springy to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk the eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar continuously together. It will begin to foam, and after about 6 minutes will thicken nicely. Remove from heat and pour into a food processor. Set aside to cool for about 7 minutes. Add the softened butter and salt and blend until smooth (about 1 minute). Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold.
- Cut out your hearts and set aside. Fill a piping bag with the raspberry sauce, or raspberry jam. Fill a piping bag with the lemon cream. Finally fill a piping bag fitted with a large star tip with the whipped cream. Okay, here we go. Place one heart on a platter. Pipe the raspberry sauce on top of that heart. Pipe out the whipped cream on top of the raspberry sauce. Place another heart on top of the whipped cream to create a most beautiful sandwich. Pipe out the lemon cream on top of the heart. Add three raspberries, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. You did it! Now, do the others.
- 3-inch heart cookie cutter
- 15” x 10” jelly roll pan
- Standing mixer with paddle attachment
- Off-set spatula
- Food processor
- Saucepan
- 2 piping bags (no tip needed)
- 1 piping bag fitted with large star tip
