Recipe - Honey-Chocolate Valentine Cake

3 Squares; (1 ounce each)
unsweetened chocolate
One half cup Water
One half Stick; (One fourth cup) butter or
margarine
One half cup Sugar
2 lg Eggs
1 cup Allpurpose flour
Three fourths teaspoon Baking soda
One half cup Each buttermilk and honey
One half teaspoon Vanilla extract

CHOCOLATE GLAZE
1 One fourth cup Semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoon Solid vegetable shortening

DECORATION
One fourth cup Semisweet chocolate chips
Garnish: Sweetheartrose
petals

A moist, singlelayer chocolate cake coated with a satiny chocolate glaze.
Any pretty, pesticidefree edible flower can be used as a garnish.

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9inch heartshaped cake pan (see Note).
Line bottom with waxed paper. Grease paper and lightly dust pan and paper
with flour.

2. Heat chocolate and water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring
often, until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. (Or put chocolate and
water in a medium bowl. Microwave on high, checking every 30 seconds, until
chocolate is melted. Stir until smooth.) 3. Mix flour and baking soda on a
sheet of waxed paper. Mix buttermilk, honey and vanilla in a small bowl
until blended.

4. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer until creamy.
Beat in eggs one at a time. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in 3
additions alternately with buttermilk mixture until well blended. Beat in
chocolate mixture. (Batter may look speckled, but chocolate will blend in
when baked). Pour into prepared pan.

5. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until cake comes away slightly from sides of
pan and a pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire
rack 10 minutes. Invert on rack and let cool completely.

6. Glaze: Heat chocolate and shortening in a saucepan over low heat,
stirring often, until melted and smooth. (Or heat chocolate and shortening
in microwave as directed in Step 2.) Let cool 10 to 15 minutes. Pour over
top and sides of cake and, working quickly with a large spatula, spread
until cake is coated.

7. Decoration: Put chocolate chips in a bottom corner of a gallonsize
ziptop foodstorage bag. Put filled corner of bag in a small bowl and add
boiling water to cover. Let stand about 2 minutes until chocolate softens.
Dry outside of bag. Knead chocolate through bag until completely melted and
smooth. Snip off the tip of a corner. Pipe parallel lines about Three fourths inch
apart on top of cake. Quickly draw a toothpick across the lines,
alternating direction and wiping toothpick between each stroke. 8. To
serve, scatter rose petals on cake. If petals are from pesticidefree
homegrown roses, munch away. If from a florist, remove petals before eating
cake.

* Serves 10.

NOTE Heartshaped cake pans are available in partysupply shops, large
variety stores and cookware stores, or they can be ordered by writing to
Wilton Enterprises, 2240 West 75th St., Woodridge, IL 60517. To save time,
call 7089637100 and ask for mail order. Only credit card orders will be
accepted by phone.

Recipe by: ctlinda 1997

Posted to recipeludigest Volume 01 Number 586 by ctlindab@mail1.nai.net on
Jan 23, 1998