Red Velvet Valentines: LOVE Cake

Happy Valentine’s Day!

How unbelievably cute are these moulds? You can buy them here and also a huge thank you to Sarah-Jane for hosting the giveaway on her lovely blog

The cake is again red velvet but this time it’s the recipe from the Magnolia Bakery.  It is delicious!

I’m going to be away from the blog for a bit.  My sister is getting married on Wednesday and it’s a two flights there, two flights back job! Plus another four flights between Friday and Sunday but if I start typing about impending adventures now, I just won’t stop! Hope everyone has a lovely week =)

Red Velvet Valentines: Buttermilk Pancakes

Ok, avert your eyes if you think Valentines is a faux holiday... 

 I'm not against it, mainly because I get to buy inappropriate cards for Jim. 

Like this:-

Anyway, big fluffy American pancakes are a staple breakfast in the cottage. 

Mainly because they remind us of New York and one of the most 

amazing breakfasts wehave ever consumed... (It was called The 

Lumberjack, three huge pancakes, 

two eggs, sausage, bacon, a lake of maple syrup and butter... 

My arteries still ache from the memory!) I thought I would "jazz" 

them up with smooshy love hearts! 

Ingredients

 1 cup of plain flour

1tsp baking powder

½ tsp cocoa powder

1 cup of buttermilk

2tsbp golden caster sugar

2tbsp olive oil (plus extra for frying)

Red food colouring

Method

1, Sift all the dry ingredients together in one bowl.

2, Mix all the wet ingredients together in a jug 

(apart from the food colouring)

3, Take out a couple of tablespoons of the batter and mix that with some 

red food colouring so it is nice a bright

4, Heat up a non-stick saucepan with a little drizzle of oil for frying 

over a medium heat

5, Add ¼ cup of the batter into the pan and spread out to form a circle, 

then quickly dollop ½ tsp of the red batter on the surface in a small circle shape. 

Taking a skewer or the tip of a sharp knife, drag it across the circle 

to form a heart shape.  

6, Leave the pancake to cook until little bubbles start to form on the 

uncooked side then flip it and cook until golden brown.

7, These are best served immediately but I tend to keep the warm 

in the top oven until they are all cooked.  

The red batter can be used to make any patterns.  
I made Jim a ‘Jimcake’.  Because he is special.

Red Velvet Valentines: Red Velvet Mini Cakes

I never really understood red velvet cake. I just wasn't sure why you'd put food colouring in cake. 

I have seriously been missing out... 

Cue me baking some little red velvet mini cakes and then falling in love for the second time this week with an inanimate object.

(This is my first love of the week. My first, brand spanking new SLR. I've called her Drusilla <3)

This recipe is from here but I have halved it. I didn't want an army of mini cakes! (It made around 12 mini cakes)

Ingredients

125gr butter

150gr golden caster sugar

1 egg

120gr buttermilk

½ tbsp white wine vinegar

150gr plain flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

10gr cocoa powder

Red food colouring (liquid 1tsp)

Method

Preheat oven to 180o/c

1, Cream the butter and sugar together.

2, Beat in the egg

3, Beat in the butter, vinegar and vanilla extract.   

4, Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt and gently fold it in

5, Mix in the food colouring until the batter is a dusky red colour.  I used a teaspoon of red food colouring in liquid form.

6, Spoon the batter into greased moulds so they are half full.    

7, Bake for 15 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean. 

8, Cool thoroughly on a wire rack.  Slice them in a half and add a dollop of cream cheese icing.  Sandwich them back together and top with more icing.