Valentine's Day Cake

I stumbled across the design of this cake last year when I found myself going through a load of old posts on Bakerella's website.  I decided to make it for my wee mommy for Valentine's Day since for as long as I can remember she has made me a bag of goodies every year (usually consisting of socks, a keyring, chocolate or other V-Day themed items she finds in the stores) so I figured this year I'd surprise her with a little something for her.

Basically, this can be any kind of cake, but my mother's personal favourite is red velvet.  I got myself a moderately-sized heart shaped cake tin from ebay (though this design would work in other shapes too).

To make this you'll need:

Your chosen cake tin

Another cake tin for the excess batter (or another batch of batter, depending on the size of the cake)

At least 1 batch of frosting (again, it's up to you what kind you use)

Chocolate (milk, plain or white)

Decorations for your cake balls (sprinkles/ glitter/ candy melts)

Red fondant (or white fondant and red food colouring)

Mini cupcake cases

Bake your cake as normal.  Leave to cool and then take the extra cake, crumble it into a bowl and then mix in enough frosting to bring all the cake crumbs together, but isn't too sticky.  Roll your mixture into walnut sized balls and place on greaseproof paper on a baking tray.  Once you have rolled enough, place the baking tray into your freezer to help them firm up.  This will make the coating process much easier later on.

Roll fondant out over a cake board (I use edible glue to keep it in place) and centre your cake on the board.  Spread your chosen flavour of frosting over the top and sides, any messes can be cleaned up later with some kitchen paper.  Roll out some more fondant and cover the top of your cake and trim any excess fondant off for a clean line around the top.  Roll out even more fondant in a long strip, this will form the sides of your "box".  Make sure the fondant you roll is thick enough to stand up and not flop over, it should also be slightly taller than the side of your cake.

Melt your chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan.  Take the tray of cake balls out of the freezer, and using 2 teaspoons, roll them in the melted chocolate until they are covered and place them back on the tray.  Add sprinkles or glitter now before the chocolate sets.  Once you are happy with your cake balls, place them either in the fridge or freezer so that the chocolate can set completely.

Finally, place your cake balls in some mini cupcake cases and arrange them in your box cake.

Original idea from Bakerella website 

Cake balls technique also from Bakerella website