My Son Henri’s Valentine Vision!

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | February 11, 2009
Filed Under cake, kids, recipe

This cake was designed by my 9 year old son. He even instructed me on how I should put it together. His plan was to bake a sheet of cake and cut the layers with a heart shaped cookie cutter. Then stack them together with raspberry cream and pour a glossy chocolate ganache over the top. I know I’m biased, but I think he is brilliant!

Happy Valentines to my two sons, Henri and Charlie, and my husband Graham! My 3 muses!

Here is Henri’s vision, I must say it is as delicious as it is pretty!

Heart Shaped Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cakes by Henri:

1 recipe Devil’s Food Cake, baked in two Sheet Pan Half Size lined with parchment. Bake the layers for about 20 minutes or until set.

for the raspberry cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons raspberry preserves

for the chocolate ganache by Sherry Yard The Secrets of Baking:

1 pound bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup apricot jam, heated and strained if there are chunks of fruit

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup corn syrup

for the blackberry coulis:

2 cups frozen or fresh blackberries

1 tablespoon creme de cassis or other liqueur

sugar to taste, only if the fruit is not sweet

Cut the devil’s food cake with a Heart Cookie Cutter. Depending on the size of your cutter this will get you about 12 2-layer cakes per sheet.

to make the cream: whip the heavy cream until soft peaks, add the raspberry preserves and continue whipping until stiff peaks. Fill a Pastry Bags, fitted with a round pastry tip and pipe the cream on half of the heart shaped cakes.

Top the cream with another layer of cake. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you make the ganache.

Make the ganache: Heat the apricot preserves in a sauce pan over medium low heat until melted. Add the cream, milk and corn syrup and heat until just about to simmer. Remove from heat. Dump in all of the chopped chocolate, swirl the pot to make sure the chocolate is completely covered by the cream. Let sit for about 3 minutes and then gently whisk until smooth.

Pour about 1 cup of the hot ganache into a shallow dish and refrigerate for 10 minutes or until slightly firm, but still spreadable.

Leave the remainder of the ganache in the pot to keep it pourable.

With a small Spatula, spread the refrigerated ganache over the sides of the cakes. The goal is to fill the gap between the layers of cake and make them smooth. We want a smooth surface so that when you pour the ganache over the cakes you will not have any bumps.

To pour the ganache on the cakes you will need to set them on a cooling rack that is over a sheet pan lined with parchment. You want to do this to catch all of the dripping chocolate.

Slowly pour the ganache over the cake, starting in the middle and working outward. Be sure to check all the sides as you go. As you can see there will be a lot pooled up on the parchment, but you will scrape that up and be able to remelt and use again.

If your ganache starts to get too thick, return the pot to the stove and heat on very low heat, just for a moment.

Allow the cakes to set at room temperature for about 20 minutes. If you need to refrigerate them, they will loose their shine. Once you return them to room temperature and they warm up the shine will come back.

Serve with the blackberry coulis: Cook the berries, cassis and sugar in a sauce pan over low heat until the juices start to boil, about 10 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the berries. Strain through a Chinois Strainer or fine mesh strainer.

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Comments

53 Responses to “My Son Henri’s Valentine Vision!”

02/11/09 5:27 pm	Katrina said... Henri, you are destined to become a most brilliant chef/dessert chef – this is a lovely dessert that melds so many wonderful flavors – chocolate, whipped cream, raspberry, blackberry. Here’s one dessert I’ll have to make !
02/11/09 5:34 pm	Donalyn said... I agree Zoe – your son is brilliant!
02/11/09 6:09 pm	Barb said... Henri…you are talented in so many ways…and this is just one of the many reasons you are my special, special friend! Happy Valentines to all the Francois…xoxo
02/11/09 6:35 pm	Karen said... The kid is a genius! How great that he likes to create recipes!
02/11/09 6:36 pm	diva said... your son is indeed a genius and so meticulous as well these cakes are beautiful zoe..just splendid. x
02/11/09 6:48 pm	Di said... Those look amazing. I love chocolate and raspberry together.
02/11/09 7:00 pm	Giff said... that’s delightful
02/11/09 7:42 pm	Erica said... OMG – very decadent! Love it.
02/11/09 8:40 pm	Monica H said... These are brilliantand so is your son- must come from his Mom. Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!
02/11/09 9:53 pm	Elyse said... I think Henri got some of his mom’s culinary genius! These look delicious.
02/11/09 10:02 pm	Jen said... Gorgeous, lady! Aaron came home talking about eating them at your house – I had to check in and see what all the stir was about! Lucky little devil! Way to go Henri – you rock!! Z – the pictures are awesome…you rock too! XO J
02/11/09 10:09 pm	zoe said... Thank you all for the fabulous comments. I will have Henri come and read them, he will be so proud that you liked his idea! Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! Zoë ps Jen, I meant to send them home with A. Aaaargh!
02/11/09 10:14 pm	Jen said... hehehehe…do I have to take you to dinner if you send them over here?!
02/12/09 12:02 am	cakebrain said... You’re right. He’s brilliant! It must be genetic!
02/12/09 1:52 am	deeba said... STUNNING…what a vision!! Simply amazing.
02/12/09 2:51 am	mary said... I couldn’t agree more with your son….it’s fantastic!
02/12/09 3:17 am	May said... Well done Henri!So beautiful and I’m sure it is so delicious (mmmm, raspberries with chocolate…)!
02/12/09 4:03 am	Y said... Beautiful cakes! Henri is going to break a lot of hearts when he’s older!
02/12/09 4:52 am	latifa said... Simply Amazing!
02/12/09 7:26 am	patricia said... Henri, great idea!! maybe we can do something like this with pancakes next time you come over.
02/12/09 7:56 am	Bubbles LaTour said... Oh, my lord! Henri has inherited his mother’s gifts. What a beautiful idea. Zoë, do you do your own food styling for your pictures. The cake with the petals and then the bud atop is just stunning to me. Your talents have no end. (And I hope you don’t think me impertinent for asking!) -Bubbles
02/12/09 7:57 am	Cara said... I love that your precious Henri had a Valentine vision; what a man after my own heart I think he is just brillant as well!
02/12/09 8:20 am	zoe said... Thanks Bubbles! Yes, I do my own styling and photography. It turns out that you can buy bags of rose petals at your local florist! Cheers! Zoë
02/12/09 10:06 am	Dana said... Someone is following in Mama’s footsteps! I love that he even had an opinion about Valentine’s Day! You’ve got to teach those boys early! (I have two of my own.)
02/12/09 10:34 am	Jen Mathis said... Biased or not, I think you’re right on this one- he is brilliant! Those make me want to OM NOM NOM NOM…[face covered in chocolate]
02/12/09 11:11 am	hayley said... Dear Henri, Would you be my Valentine?
02/12/09 11:26 am	zoe said... hehehehe! I should have mentioned that Henri still thinks that girls have cooties! Zoë
02/12/09 11:27 am	Lindsey said... Your son is in fact brilliant. Those look amazing. Do you deliver? Or better yet, just come on over and make those for me.
02/12/09 4:31 pm	lisa (dandysugar) said... What a talented son you have! Mouthwatering little chocolate and raspberry cakes!
02/12/09 4:58 pm	Jane L said... This is one of most beautiful things I have seen for Valentine. Your son is so gifted !! I will try to make them for my family. Thanks for sharing it !!
02/12/09 6:03 pm	Jane said... Those are amazing, I showed my 10 year old daughter the pictures and she wants to make them over the weekend to share with friends. Please tell Henri I said thank you for the wonderful idea! Jane
02/12/09 6:13 pm	sandra said... Henri, you’re brilliant!this is a perfect Valentine’s cake, you can be proud of you I have a 9-year old girl but she never had a Valentine’s vision.. although she dreams alot of chocolate cakes!!
02/12/09 6:49 pm	JoAnn said... My 9yro is my creative muse as well! He makes my heart smile. I’m going to make these with soy, if you have any tips for using soymilk before doing this please let me know! Happy Valentines Day to you and yours.
02/12/09 8:22 pm	brilynn said... You certainly do have a smart son on your hands, these little cakes look wonderful!
02/13/09 10:31 am	Do You Budget For Field Trips? \| Momma's Blog said... [...] an unrelated note, I found THIS recipe for Heart Shaped Cakes on Macheesmo.com (Thanks ProBlogger!) and want [...]
02/13/09 11:08 am	CookiePie said... WOW – I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! Your son has a real talent – hope he enjoyed these beautiful cakes!
02/13/09 11:29 am	erin said... Your son is awesome…I hope my little boy grows up to have thoughts like that!
02/13/09 11:33 am	Glaucia said... these look amazing, and I think Henri rocks! How long do these take to make. Looks de-lish, but definitely a labor of love!
02/13/09 11:37 am	zoe said... Hi Glaucia, He mentioned it at dinner. It took me about 45 minutes to make the cake (baking included and you can do ahead!), 15 to make the ganache and another 5 to whip the cream. Depending on how quickly your ganache sets up it will take about an hour to assemble and let them set up. I give yourself a couple of hours, but there is plenty of down time to do other things during that time! Have fun! Zoë
02/13/09 2:33 pm	Sara said... This looks fantastic! It’s very cool that Henri already has ideas about how to create dishes.
02/13/09 3:02 pm	Ceres said... These little heart cakes are simply precious! I think I would be happy just dragging a spoon through the ganache that dripped onto the parchment.
02/13/09 3:06 pm	Chez US said... Zoe, you have a real foodie on your hands! Henri has the right idea! I love how petite and cute these little bits of chocolate heaven are! Happy Vday to your lovely family and you.
02/13/09 6:15 pm	Esi said... I love this idea! So cute and kind of like a grown up ding dong, or ho ho…or whatever that cake was
02/13/09 6:20 pm	zoe said... Yes, Esi you are exactly right! I used to have something on the menu like it when I worked with Andrew Zimmern and he called them “Kick A– Ho Hos!” I had forgotten about that! LOL. Zoë
02/13/09 9:16 pm	maris said... The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! I want Henri to teach ME how to bake!
02/14/09 1:04 am	robin said... yum! it’s like a little sacher torte!
02/14/09 3:04 am	yaelian said... Wow, beautiful cakes,your son is a genius:-)
02/14/09 6:24 pm	Aran said... so you have another pastry chef in the making! gorgeous job!
02/14/09 7:39 pm	zoe said... Hi Aran, I actually think he will be the food critic and Charlie will be the chef! I live with men that have very strong opinions about food. But, they’ll try just about anything and I love it!!! Zoë
02/15/09 9:45 am	RecipeGirl said... Zoe- your son is brilliant He actually sounds like my son- who gives similar advice about recipes as well as photo set-up ideas. They’re so sweet, aren’t they? These look delicious. I did choc. dipped brownies and cookies (both heart shaped) for Val. Day this year. Never thought to do cakes. Next year will be cakes!
02/16/09 4:28 pm	Tartelette said... How wonderful that Henri is so in tune with food and chocolate! He’ll have no problem get a nice Valentine when the time comes, if it did not happen already with this creation! A family of food critics and chef …yeah!
02/18/09 12:46 pm	Sophie said... Your son is quite the culinary genius, this is an ideal treat for any day! The cake looks moist and rich, perfect.
04/9/09 11:19 pm	Zill.y said... I’ll have to try those as well, for my loved ones…. Wonderful idea!