Torta di San Valentino: Prepare Perfect Cake For Romantic Candlelit Dinner

The Valentine's cake is the perfect dessert to conclude the most romantic candlelit dinner. Cocoa shortcrust pastry, a luscious mascarpone cream, and then strawberries and raspberries for this recipe that enchants the eyes and makes the palate fall in love!

 

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUST

• 150g chilled butter
• 100g powdered sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 270g all-purpose flour
• 30g unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ vanilla bean
• A pinch of salt

 

FOR THE CREAM

 

• 300g mascarpone cheese
• 150ml heavy cream
• ½ vanilla bean
• 80g powdered sugar
• Mixed berries to taste
• 3-4 meringues
• Fresh mint

PREPARATION TIME: 40 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

RESTING PLACE: REFRIGERATOR

RESTING TIME: 30 minutes

SERVINGS: 8

Torta di San Valentino: Prepare Perfect Cake For Romantic Candlelit Dinner

The perfect Valentine's Day cake is scrumptious, dramatic, and has the unmissable heart shape that makes it super romantic. Therefore, here is a Chocolate Cream Tart, filled with a dense mascarpone and cream filling, decorated with red fruits.

Delicious and with an easily replicable recipe, it is the ideal dessert to conclude the most classic dinner for two or even for a family gathering, when we are surrounded by the people we love the most.

To obtain the perfect shape, cut out your "heart-shaped ring" on a piece of cardboard or parchment paper. Place it on the just-rolled-out cocoa pastry and, using a smooth and well-sharpened knife, cut the edges following the outline. Remove the central dough, move everything onto the baking sheet, et voilà. And with the leftover pastry, rolled out again, you can also prepare some cookies.

Step 1:

To prepare a Valentine's Day cake, commence with the cocoa shortcrust pastry. In the bowl of a stand mixer, utilize the paddle attachment to work the diced cold butter and sugar for a duration of one minute. Add in the egg yolks along with the extracted vanilla seeds, flour, bitter cocoa, and salt. Knead the entirety at a low velocity, just enough to achieve a smooth and homogeneous mixture, without overheating it excessively.

Step 2:

Next, shape the mixture into a ball, wrap it in cling film, and let it rest in the fridge for thirty minutes. After this interval, divide the dough into two portions, and place one on a sheet of baking paper. Store the remaining portion in the refrigerator while wrapped in cling film. Roll out the shortcrust pastry with a rolling pin until it attains a thickness of approximately 5 millimeters. Employing the tip of a knife, carve a heart-shaped ring into the pastry, using a stencil previously drawn onto a piece of cardboard or baking paper. The distance between the inner and outer edges should measure at least 4 centimeters.

Step 3:

Place the heart obtained in a baking dish and bake at 180°C for 15-16 minutes. Once both hearts are cooked, one at a time in the oven, let them cool on a cake rack.

Step 4:

Prepare the cream by combining mascarpone cheese, vanilla seeds, and powdered sugar in a bowl. Mix everything with an electric mixer until obtaining a dense and well-whipped cream. In a separate bowl, whip the cream and gradually incorporate it into the mascarpone cream, stirring very gently so as not to deflate it. Transfer the cream into a pastry bag with a smooth nozzle tip of 13 mm.

Step 5:

When ready to assemble the cake, place the first cocoa heart on the serving plate. Pipe dollops of cream next to each other, covering the entire surface of the heart-shaped ring and filling in any empty spaces. Place the second pastry ring on top and repeat the same process with the remaining cream.

Step 6:

Decorate the Valentine's cake by placing raspberries, strawberries, currants, and meringues on the surface. Complete with a few mint leaves and serve.