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Chocolate Valentine’s Cakes With Whipped Ganache

ByChoclette
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These mini chocolate Valentine’s cakes are rich, moist and very chocolatey. A whipped dark chocolate ganache makes the recipe extra lush. Their small elegant bite-size makes them easy to eat and with no inhibiting cases to dispose of, these cupcakes are the perfect finger food.

Chocolate Valentine's cakes with whipped chocolate ganache and edible hearts.

Astonishingly, this blog is five years old today. To celebrate, rather than a St Valentine’s Day Massacre, I’ve engineered something all together more festive.

Chocolate Log Blog Is Five

The simple truth is, that despite the many, many things I’ve baked and prepared over the past five years, I’ve hardly scratched the surface of chocolate cookery. This is a good thing, I reckon, because, unlike Valentine’s Day ephemera, chocolate will never ever lose its appeal. Drawing on the collective brilliance of contributors to We Should Cocoa, the many excellent food blogs and chocolate cookbooks, my own creations and adaptations, there is not a chance that I will run out of things to make in the next five or even fifty years.

Another year on and I and my Chocolate Log Blog have notched up a few more achievements. As well as making it into the top twenty of Wikio’s gastronomy blogs I’m also in Cision’s top ten UK confectionery and baking blogs. I was chuffed to bits to reach #3 in the Foodies100 Top Twenty UK Food Blogs for 2013. Not only that I was also in their Top Twenty Food Bloggers on Twitter too.

I didn’t think things could get any better, but it turned out they absolutely did. The January edition of Cornwall Today featured Chocolate Log Blog as one of the best five Cornish blogs. Wow and I didn’t even bribe them with cake. You can see the article on the author’s site at Saffron Bunny.

I also had another recipe published, this time in the Plymouth Herald. Maybe not quite as prestigious as the Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook, but still very pleasing.

Valentines's chocolate cupcakes on three tier cake stand.

Two big events stood out: I baked an astonishing number of things both for a grand party and a market stall. It was a lot of hard work, but very satisfying to see it all disappear with complimentary comments all round.

I continue to attend Cornwall Clandestine Cake Club whenever I’m able and try to take part in as many blog challenges as I can. This past year has seen a prodigious proliferation of these, so I’m amazed to have done as many as I have.

Living in remote Cornwall, I don’t get out very often, but I did manage to make it up to Cheltenham to meet some of my food blogging chums in June last year. We’ve also had a few events down in this part of the world where I’ve got to meet-up with bloggers old and new. The trip to Riverford was a particularly good one and the chocolate workshop with Nicky Grant was a real pleasure.

Cornwall has food festivals aplenty, but scattered as they are, I don’t get to many of them. Having heard from Fiona of London Unattached just how good the Boscastle one was, I made it there last year for the first time. She was right, it was a great festival with plenty to see and do and the setting is lovely. I had the added bonus of meeting up with her as well as Nat from the HungryHinny.

Thanks go, as always, to you my readers and fellow food bloggers. I would most certainly not have had the fortitude to have continued without your support, participation and comments.

As an extra chocolatey treat, I have picked ten super scrumptious chocolatey posts from other UK bloggers to hopefully inspire you over at Foodies 100 – Ten at Ten: the chocolate edition.

Mini Chocolate Valentine’s Cakes

So to celebrate Chocolate Log Blog’s Birthday as well as Valentine’s Day and give CT something to munch on (he has offered both me and my blog invaluable support after all), I have made these little chocolate Valentine’s cakes. Dark and lush as befits this day of love.

The cake recipe I adapted from one in Treat Petite by Fiona Pearce. Here’s my review of this newly published book, in case you fancy a gander. The whipped dark chocolate ganache, however, I made up myself from some leftover chocolate sauce I’d made for another recipe (soon to be appearing on the blog).

Close up of mini chocolate Valentine's cakes chocolate ganache and edible hearts.

The cakes are rich, moist and very chocolatey. The small elegant bite-sized cakes are easy to eat and with no inhibiting cases to dispose of make for perfect finger food. CT has given them his seal of approval by downing several in quick succession and declaring them better than any bunch of roses.

Dr Oetker Chocolate Bars & Other Baking Decorations.

Just in time to make these and as a wonderful Valentine’s gift, I received a lovely bundle of chocolate goodies and hearts from Dr Oetker, including some heart-shaped marshmallows which were fun.

Lekué's pink silicone piping tool, decomax.

Fancy decorating has never been my strong point. For this special occasion, however, I thought I’d pull out the stops and pipe the ganache on top of the cakes, using my new Lékué silicone decomax (review to follow in an upcoming post).

Other Valentine’s Day Recipes You Might Like

Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these chocolate Valentine’s cakes, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?

If you’d like more cupcake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.

Choclette x

Chocolate Valentine’s Cakes. PIN IT.

Heart strewn mini chocolate cupcakes sitting on a three tier cake stand. Text box reads "whipped ganache chocolate Valentine's cakes".

Chocolate Valentine’s Cakes – The Recipe

Chocolate Valentine's cakes with whipped chocolate ganache and edible hearts.
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5 from 1 vote

Chocolate Valentine’s Cakes

These mini cupcakes are rich, moist and very chocolatey. A whipped dark chocolate ganache makes the recipe extra lush. Their small elegant bite-size makes them easy to eat and with no inhibiting cases to dispose of, they are the perfect finger food.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Afternoon Tea, Snack
Cuisine: British
Keyword: cakes, chocolate, cupcakes, mini cakes, valentine’s day
Servings: 30 cupcakes
Calories: 131kcal
Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

Cakes

  • 60 g dark chocolate (I used 70%)
  • 160 ml strong black coffee
  • 90 g unsalted butter softened
  • 225 g dark brown sugar (I used muscovado sugar)
  • 2 large eggs (I used duck eggs)
  • 100 g flour (I used half wholemeal spelt and half white)
  • ¾ tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 40 g ground almonds

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

  • 150 ml double cream (heavy cream)
  • 115 g dark chocolate (I used 85%)
  • 1 ½ tbsp maple syrup*
  • 2 tbsp strong black coffee

Instructions

Cakes

  • Melt the chocolate in a pan over a low heat with the coffee. Stir until smooth, then remove from the heat.
    60 g dark chocolate, 160 ml strong black coffee
  • Cream the butter together with the sugar until pale and fluffy.
    90 g unsalted butter, 225 g dark brown sugar
  • Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
    2 large eggs
  • Sift in the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and ground almonds and stir until everything is just incorporated.
    100 g flour, ¾ tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 40 g ground almonds
  • Spoon into 24 mini cupcake moulds filling them to about ¾ full. Spoon the rest into 8 mini cupcake moulds or 4 full-sized ones.
  • Bake in a preheated oven at 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4) for about 15 minutes until well risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
  • Leave to cool in the moulds for a couple of minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

  • Melt the chocolate in the cream and maple syrup in a small pan over a gently heat. As soon as the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and give a good stir.
    150 ml double cream (heavy cream), 115 g dark chocolate, 1 ½ tbsp maple syrup*
  • Leave in the fridge to set.
  • As soon as it’s set, use electric beaters to whip it up with the cooled coffee until it’s light and moussy.
    2 tbsp strong black coffee
  • Use a knife or spoon to spread the ganache over the cooled cakes. Alternatively pipe it on instead.
  • Decorate with the hearts of your choice.

Notes

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 131kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 10mg | Potassium: 81mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 167IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below letting us know how you got on and do share a photo on Instagram. Tag @choclette8 or use hashtag #tinandthyme.
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Sharing

I’m sharing these mini chocolate valentine’s cakes with Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary for her Valentine’s Day baking inspiration blog hop.

Chocolate is quite rightly the theme for this month’s Tea Time Treats over at Lavender and Lovage. This is a monthly event to load a tea table with more goodies than it can possible manage. Karen’s partner in crime is Jane over at The Hedgecombers.

I’m submitting these mini cakes to the No Waste Food Challenge as I had some leftover chocolate sauce that needed using up. It would, er, obviously, have gone to waste if I hadn’t used it up in this recipe 😉 Normally hosted at Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary, this month Fiona of London Unattached is taking the reigns.

I’m also submitting these cupcakes to Credit Crunch Munch for the same reason as above. It just so happens that I omitted the cupcake cases and saved a few pennies by so doing. I was really quite pleased with their naked appearance.

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67 Comments

  1. Congratulations on your fantastic achievements over the last year – you must be so proud! 🙂 Thank you for linking up with the No waste food challenge xx

    Reply

    1. So far, I’ve been quite impressed by the decomax. I’ve not really got on well with piping bags which I find really messy and difficult to use, but time will tell.

      Reply

  9. Happy 5th blog birthday!! Wow what an achievement and what a brilliant year it has been for your blog. It was an absolute pleasure to meet you in Cheltenham and I hope we will have another opportunity in the future. The cakes look absolutely delightful and perfect for the occasion! Here’s to many more years of chocolatey goodness!

    Reply

  17. Happy birthday, Choclette! 5 years of chocolate is quite the accomplishment and it’s been so much fun following along for part of those 5. And now here’s to the next chocolatey five!

    Reply

  18. Happy Blog Birthday Choclette! 5 years is a fantastic achievement. I always love stopping by to see your chocolate creations. Your mini cupcakes look like the perfect way to celebrate.

    Reply

  20. valentines day is so right for your anniversary – it is just an excuse to eat lots of chocolate, right?

    glad you are still going strong – congratulations on the blogiversary and all the great achievements – and love your little cakes – they are just gorgeous

    Reply

  27. A big fat chocolaty happy birthday and what a year you have had, all well deserved and it was great to see you in Cheltenham last year for our smutty meet up! Thanks for adding these to Tea Time Treats and now pass me over a plate of those chocolate cakes! Karen xxx

    Reply

    1. Thanks Helen, where does the time go? Very true about the environmental waste too, though in the greater scheme of things just acquiring less stuff is probably the best thing we can do.

      Reply

  33. Happy Blog Birthday! You’ve achieved so much in five years. I am always amazed how you are so creative with chocolate, both in savoury and sweet dishes. I look forward to seeing many more posts and hopefully a blossoming friendship too 🙂

    Reply

  35. Congratulations to your 5th blog anniversary. That is quite some time. I would love to read from this blog the next coming 50 years, too. Yes, that’s the good thing with food, including chocolate, you can always try something new.
    I would say, when it comes to getting out, I am even worse, I don’t get anywhere at all (kind of), not even to the Cornwall Clandestine Cake Club (which I would love to try at least once).
    Whatsoever, continue to enjoy your chocolate.

    Reply