This recipe really counts as four recipes, because there are four homemade components that go into it. Triple Chocolate Hearts begin with a gooey brownie base. Next is a layer of smooth, pink, vanilla buttercream, followed by a layer of fluffy, moist, chocolate cake. The whole thing is topped with rich chocolate ganache, dripping down the sides of the cake. I wanted to create individual desserts of a similar size and cuteness as cupcakes, but in a more interesting form. I think these fit the bill perfectly.
Before you go running away because there are way too many parts to this recipe, let me make it easier. You can use a box brownie mix, a box cake mix, and a can of frosting if you so desire/don’t happen to have some extra time on your hands. Your treats will still be adorable and delicious, and you’ll only need to make a quick ganache from scratch. That said, baking is clearly my favorite hobby, so if I can find the time, I like to do it all from scratch. If you do have a little extra time, a quick way to improve canned frosting is to whip it with your mixer. This gives it a lot more volume, so you can put a nice thick – yet light and fluffy – layer between the brownie and the cake.
Triple Chocolate Hearts are extraordinarily rich, but I feel that Valentine’s Day calls for it. What is Valentine’s Day, if not an excuse to eat a lot of decadent chocolate-y desserts? Yeah, yeah it’s about love and all that, but the rest of the year can be about love if you make it, and wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing? Letting yourself indulge in desserts like this all year is definitely not going to work out as well. Love all year, eat extraordinary treats on Valentine’s Day.
These fit perfectly in little individual cupcake boxes, so you can package them with a pretty ribbon and hand them out to your favorite people. Be careful who you give them to, though – as soon as they take the first bite, I pretty much guarantee they’ll fall in love with you all over again.
You’ll be left with scraps of brownie and cake, and maybe extra frosting and ganache. I think it would be an absolute crime to waste all of this. Instead of just eating all the leftovers the very same day, I like to work them into other recipes. You can make mini triple chocolate parfaits, cake pops, or use the extra bits to top off yogurt or an acai bowl if that’s your thing. Of course, I’m not always the best at following my own re-purposing advice. I ate basically all of the scraps myself when I made these for co-workers last year. I was in the thick of planning my wedding; I promise I needed to eat the extras to keep from losing my mind. You can easily freeze the leftover cake and brownie pieces for self-medication purposes down the road, if you don’t want feel like turning them into something else.
You can change the concept here, and make adorable non-heart-shaped cakes with different sprinkles and white or chocolate frosting in the middle instead. These would make perfect birthday treats if you’re looking for something to make besides cupcakes. The only thing that won’t change is how delicious they are.
Every layer of Triple Chocolate Hearts has a different level of sweetness, so they aren’t overwhelmingly sugary. The varying textures of the layers make them much more interesting than a typical cake, so you’ll keep coming back for another bite, and another. Just, do yourself a favor and have some milk on hand – anything this chocolatey requires milk.
Triple Chocolate Hearts
I use the standard Hershey's Collector's Chocolate Cake recipe for Triple Chocolate Hearts. I didn't invent this one, but I wish I had!
The brownies and frosting are just typical recipes for brownies and buttercream - nothing super special or innovative (but extremely delicious).
The ganache is an original recipe.
Ingredients
Hershey's Collector's Chocolate Cake
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cups cocoa
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cup water
Brownies
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate (I used Baker's)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
Fluffy Pink Buttercream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar - divided use
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 2 dashes salt
- 1/2 Tbsp milk
- 4 drops red food coloring
Chocolate Ganache
- 4 Tbsp melted, unsalted butter 56.5g
- 6 Tbsp cocoa 30g
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 85g
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Hershey's Collector's Chocolate Cake
-
Cream butter and sugar in large mixer bowl. Add eggs and vanilla; beat 1 minute at medium speed.
2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; add alternately with water to creamed mixture (quickly, with the mixer running - takes about 3 minutes).
3. Pour batter into two greased and floured 8-inch or 9-inch layer pans, or 13x9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 40 mins for 8-inch; 30 - 35 mins for 9-inch; 37 mins for 13x9.
Brownies
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Melt together butter and unsweetened chocolate, stir until smooth. Add sugar, eggs, vanilla, and chocolate chips.
2. Stir in salt and flour. Pour batter into a greased and floured 8x8 pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Do not over-bake.
Fluffy Pink Buttercream
-
Cream together butter and 1 cup of the powdered sugar. Stir in vanilla, salt, and milk.
2: Stir in remaining powdered sugar. When sugar is completely incorporated, add food coloring and stir until frosting is uniform.
3: Optional, but highly recommended: Whip frosting in a mixer on high until very fluffy, about five minutes.
- Keeps well in the refrigerator for several weeks.
Chocolate Ganache
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Combine melted butter and cocoa in a small bowl.
2. Pour chocolate chips into another bowl. Heat heavy cream for about 25 seconds in the microwave - you can also do this over the stove. You just want it hot enough to come barely to a boil. Pour cream over chocolate chips and let sit for one minute. Stir until chocolate has melted and the mixture is completely smooth.
3. Combine the two bowls of chocolatey essence into one bowl of nirvana.
Tripe Chocolate Hearts
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Make Cake (I did a 9x13) and Brownies. While these are baking, make frosting and ganache. When cake and brownies are cool, use a cookie cutter to cut heart shapes from each. Cut off the excess cake/brownie that sticks out over the top edge of the cookie cutter so that both sides of your heart shapes are even and flat.
2. Use the brownie hearts as the base. Frost with a generous layer of the pink buttercream. Top with a cake heart, bottom side-up, to give you a smoother surface for the ganache.
3. Spread a thick layer of ganache across the top of the cake, allowing some to drip down the sides. Decorate the hearts with sprinkles, and try not to eat all of them immediately!