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In a small saucepan, cook the raspberries on medium-high heat until they have released their juice and part of the liquid has evaporated.
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Pass the raspberry mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds and skin.
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Return the raspberry juice to the saucepan and cook further until it has decreased in volume to about 5 tbsp.
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Allow to cool.
For pink hidden heart design:
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Pre-heat the oven to 355 ºF (180 ºC) and line a 8 x 8 inch (20 x 20 cm) square baking tin with greaseproof/baking paper.
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In a large bowl, sift together the gluten free flour blend, almond flour, xanthan gum and baking powder. Add the sugar and salt, and mix until combined.
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Add the softened butter and, using either a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer with the double beater attachments, work the butter into the dry ingredients until you get a texture resembling coarse breadcrumbs in size.
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In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, raspberry reduction and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry+butter mixture, and whisk/mix well until no flour clumps remain and everything is evenly distributed.
Add the red food colouring or (sifted) beetroot powder to make the colour more intense.
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Transfer the cake batter into the lined baking tin, smooth out the top, and bake in the pre-heated oven at 355 ºF (180 ºC) for about 22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
If the cake starts browning too quickly or too much, cover it with aluminium foil and continue baking until done.
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Allow to cool in the baking tin for about 10 minutes, then remove from the tin, and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
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Once cool, use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out pink sponge hearts. You will need enough sponge hearts to make a row spanning the length of the loaf tin you’ll use.
For lemon loaf cake:
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Pre-heat the oven to 355 ºF (180 ºC) and line a 2lb loaf baking tin with greaseproof/baking paper. (Dimensions of 2lb loaf tin: 8 inch/21cm long, 4inch/11cm wide and 3inch/7cm high.)
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In a large bowl, sift together the gluten free flour blend, almond flour, xanthan gum and baking powder. Add the sugar and salt, and mix until combined.
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Add the softened butter and, using either a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer with the double beater attachments, work the butter into the dry ingredients until you get a texture resembling coarse breadcrumbs in size.
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Add the lemon zest. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, vanilla and lemon juice. Add the wet ingredients to the dry+butter mixture, and whisk/mix well until no flour clumps remain and everything is evenly distributed.
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Transfer some of the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin, just enough to create a thin layer of batter at the bottom.
Arrange the sponge hearts in a row along the middle of the loaf tin (see post above for photos).
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Pour/spoon the rest of the lemon batter around and over the row of sponge hearts, smooth out the top, and bake in the pre-heated oven at 355 ºF (180 ºC) for about 1 hour or until risen, golden brown on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
If the cake starts browning too quickly or too much, cover it with aluminium foil and continue baking until done.
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Allow to cool in the loaf tin for about 10 minutes, then remove from the tin, and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
For raspberry drizzle:
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Stir the powdered sugar and 1 1/2 tbsp of raspberry reduction together until you get a thick even mixture. Add 1/2 – 1 tbsp of lemon juice, mixing well, until you get the correct icing consistency (see post above for photos).
You can add more lemon juice to make it runnier, or more powdered sugar to make it thicker, as required.
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Drizzle the raspberry icing over the cooled cake, spreading it evenly across the top with the back of a spoon, and letting it drip down the sides.
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Enjoy!
Storage:
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The hidden heart Valentine’s cake keeps well in a closed container in a cool dry place for 3 – 4 days.
