Heart Cake

To prepare the heart cake, start with the batter (to make it easier to work with, it is advisable to halve the doses indicated in the recipe and prepare one cake at a time: with the indicated doses, you will get two cakes for two 10x9 inch pans): slit the vanilla pod 1 and scrape out the seeds with the blade of a small knife. Then in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar and softened butter; add the vanilla seeds 2 and start mixing the mixture with the beaters (you can also use an electric mixer); when the mixture becomes fluffy, add the eggs one at a time 3. Continue beating until they are all perfectly incorporated.

Sift the baking powder 4 and flour 5 then add the dry ingredients to the rest of the mixture a little at a time, stirring with a spatula from top to bottom to combine them with the rest 6.

Finally, slowly pour in the milk at room temperature and mix again 7 to obtain a homogeneous mixture. Butter and line with parchment paper 2 heart-shaped pans of 9x10 inches. Divide the batter evenly between them 8. Preheat the oven to 356°F (320°F for convection oven) and bake the bases for approximately 25-30 minutes (15-20 minutes for convection oven), using a toothpick to test if they are done. Once baked, take them out of the oven 9 and let them cool slightly, then remove them from the pans and let them cool completely on a wire rack. Repeat the process for the other cake.

Meanwhile, work on the chocolate ganache and meringue. For the ganache: heat the cream in a saucepan 1, finely chop the dark chocolate and place it in a small bowl. Then take the glucose 2, and put it in the bowl with the chopped chocolate. Pour the hot cream over the dark chocolate in two stages 3,

and mix with a whisk to melt the chocolate 4. Once the chocolate is melted and the mixture is homogeneous, you can quickly cool the ganache by placing it in a bowl filled with ice and stirring (this way it will cool without losing consistency and brilliance), or cover it with plastic wrap and let it cool at room temperature. Meanwhile, proceed with the meringue: pour the water into a double-bottomed saucepan 5, add half of the granulated sugar, and cook over low heat 6, stirring with a wooden spoon to dissolve it.

Immerse a candy thermometer 7 to monitor the temperature, which should reach 250°F. When the syrup temperature reaches 237°F, place the egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk 8 (or use an electric mixer) and beat them at medium speed. When the syrup reaches 250°F, reduce the speed of the stand mixer (to prevent the syrup from splattering on the sides of the bowl), pour half of the syrup into the egg whites 9, and then increase the speed again.

Take the powdered sugar and sift it. Then add it gradually to the meringue 10 and work with the mixers until completely cooled: the result will be a firm and soft, smooth, and glossy mixture 11. Place it inside a piping bag 12 with a star nozzle and store it in the refrigerator.

Now that you have all the preparations ready, begin assembling the heart cake: take one of the two bases and place it on a serving plate: create a layer of chocolate ganache covering the entire surface 1, then place the other cake 2 and cover both the surface and sides with the ganache 3

Take the sugar paste, roll it out on a lightly dusted surface with powdered sugar, then wrap it around the rolling pin and unroll it over the cake 4. Trim off the excess sugar paste 5. Decorate the sides and top with meringue swirls 6;

then take the hearts and other chocolate decorations. Place the hearts around the edge of the top, alternating white chocolate ones with dark chocolate ones 7, while decorating all around with the other chocolate decorations 8; if you prefer, you can also make a small heart in the center with meringue and leftover decorations 9.