Hidden Heart Centre Cake

Hidden heart cake

Ingredients
90 ml full cream milk, at room temperature
6 large eggs, at room temperature
4 tsp vanilla extract
300 g cake flour, sifted
300 g castor sugar
8 g baking powder
Salt
370 g unsalted butter, softened
Pink gel food colouring

Buttercream
100 g unsalted butter, softened
200 g icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 – 2 tbsp milk, if needed
Pink sprinkles, to decorate
100 g Fresh Raspberries, to decorate

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Prepare a 21.5 x 11.4 x 6.9cm loaf pans with baking spray and baking paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, lightly whisk together the milk, eggs, and vanilla and set aside.
Place the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and whisk till combined.
Add the softened butter and 1/2 of the milky egg mixture to the dry ingredients and beat until incorporated.
Scrape down the bowl and add in the other half of the egg mixture, beat till combined.
Transfer half the batter into a bowl and add 3 drops of gel food colouring, stir to combine, and adjust the colour if needed.
Add the pink batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes. for 45 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Place the loaf on a cooling rack and allow it to cool. Slice the loaf using a 5 cm heart-shaped cookie cutter.
Prepare the loaf pan with baking spray and baking paper, pour half the vanilla batter into the pan, place the heart-shaped sponge cakes in a tightly packed row, and top with the remaining cake batter.
Bake for 45 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool fully before decorating.
Beat butter with a wooden spoon until it becomes fluffy and creamy.
Add icing sugar and beat until fluffy, add vanilla and milk, then beat for a further 30 seconds. Use milk only if needed to make the buttercream soft.
Smear frosting over the top of the cake, decorate with sprinkles, and top with fresh strawberries.
The cake will last 2-3 days if stored well in an airtight container in a cool space on your countertop. Enjoy!