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Miniature Victoria Sponge Heart Cakes

Servings: Makes 12 sandwiched cakes
Comments:
I made these delightful little heart cake sandwiches for our wedding anniversary this year. They were a perfect "sweet" for this very "romantic" occasion.

These would also make a delicious Valentine's Day dessert, or they would be lovely to serve at an afternoon tea or would make a great addition to any brunch menu.

Raspberry jam, apricot jam, or even lemon curd would also work well for a filling for these sweet little heart cakes.....Diana, Diana's Desserts


Ingredients:
For the Cakes:
1 (18.25 oz.) box yellow or white cake mix
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water

For the Strawberry Jam Filling:
1 1/2 cups strawberry jam or lemon curd (or any other jam, preserves or curd of your choice)

For the Vanilla Buttercream Filling:
1/3 cup (5 tbsp./3 oz./75g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Garnish:
Confectioners' sugar
Fresh strawberries


Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Grease and flour two (6-cavity) mini heart pans (I used two 6-cavity mini heart pans made by Wilton), OR alternately spray pans with non-stick baking spray with flour.

2. Combine all cake ingredients in bowl of an electric mixer and beat for thirty seconds on low speed, then beat two minutes on medium speed. Divide batter between each mini heart cavity and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes (you will probably have some batter left over), until a cake tester inserted in center of cakes come out clean. Place cake pans on cooling racks. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and let cakes cool completely.

3. To Make Vanilla Buttercream Filling:
Combine butter, confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat with electric mixer at low speed until blended. Beat at high speed until light and fluffy, adding more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, as needed for good spreading consistency.

4. Once cakes have cooled completely, cut each individual heart cake in half horizantally. You will now have 24 mini heart cake halves.

5. Spread 2 tablespoons jam (or lemon curd, if using) on one side of each heart shaped mini cake, then spread 2 tablespoons of the buttercream icing on one side of another mini cake half. Sandwich the two cake halves together and repeat this procedure with remaining heart cake halves. Place cakes on serving plates and dust top of each cake heavily with confectioners' sugar. If desired, garnish each cake with a strawberry half. Serve cakes at room temperature. Store any uneaten cakes in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.

Makes 12 sandwiched mini heart cakes.

Note:
You can purchase the Wilton 6-Cavity Mini Heart Pans at Wilton.com, or at Amazon.com and at other stores online.

Photograph taken by Diana Baker Woodall ©2007


Source: DianasDesserts.com
Date: May 23, 2007