Mini bleeding heart Halloween cakes - mini red velvet layer cakes topped with a realistic bleeding heart cake & ganache 'blood'. Step by step picture instructions and a vegan version included.
I haven't had as much fun in the kitchen in a long time as I had making these mini bleeding heart Halloween cakes. Yes I am still trying to clean the food colouring off my hands and worktops but it was a fun and almost therapeutic craft project.
The hearts are the brainchild of Lily Vanilli, an incredibly talented baker and author who originally designed the hearts as an anti-valentines cake. I thought they would be great for Halloween and would look even more impressive placed on top of mini red velvet layer cakes with a cascade of ganache 'blood' down the side.
The hearts are actually surprisingly easy to make, so would make a fun, gruesome Halloween project to do with kids. They are more for decoration than for eating however.
They are completely edible, but are made mostly of fondant so probably don't taste great. I recommend tearing them apart and just eating the cakey innards.
I am usually loathe to use fondant for anything as I like everything I put on my bakes to be edible and tasty, but I'll make an exception for something like this.
The hearts are so glossy and shiny because they are painted with piping gel which has been tinted deep red. You can buy piping gel if you like, but it is really quick, easy and cheap to make yourself so there's no need to seek it out; I've included the recipe below.
You do need to get some decent quality gel (not liquid) food colouring in red and black. I recommend getting two pots of red, as you need it for the cake, piping gel and ganache; I use Sugarflair in Christmas red.
The cake itself is an extremely moist red velvet cake; I used the same cake mix for both the mini cakes and the cupcakes for the hearts to save having to make more than one batch.
Because the cake is so soft it is best to bake it the day before you want to assemble the cakes, otherwise you will struggle to cut out the circles neatly.
You can also make the piping gel the day beforehand and store it in an airtight container. Make the hearts on the day you want to serve them though as they can soften and fall apart if made in advance.
Vegan Version:
I've included recipes below for both a vegan and non-vegan version of these mini bleeding heart Halloween cakes.
The piping gel and fondant are both already vegan* so it is just the recipes for the red velvet cake and the buttercream which are different, and the assembly instructions are the same for both.
*(do check the specific brands of fondant however as not all of the colourings will be vegan. Renshaw fondants are vegan friendly as are Sugarflair food colourings).*
Ermine Frosting:
The frosting had to be white to contrast against the bloody hearts, I would usually make cream cheese frosting to go with red velvet cake.
But in this case I thought that it would be too soft to be able to ice the cakes neatly and hold up against the moisture from the ganache and piping gel; so I made ermine/cooked flour frosting instead.
Ermine frosting is actually the original frosting for red velvet cake. It is slightly unusual - made by making a roux with milk and flour which is cooked until thickened, cooled then whisked into butter and caster (not icing) sugar.
The result is an incredibly light, fluffy, not-too-sweet buttercream that is perfect for spreading and piping.
For the vegan version I've gone for a standard American style buttercream as it is more stable than a vegan ermine frosting. A little bit of cider vinegar and lemon juice gives it a tang reminiscent of cream cheese frosting and works beautifully with the red velevet cake.
How To Make Mini Bleeding Heart Halloween Cakes:
(These instructions show the vegan version however the assembly instructions are the same for both.)
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
*For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.*
Make the cakes and the piping gel the day before you want to assemble the cakes.
Vegan Red Velvet Cakes:
To make the vegan red velvet cake, whisk together non dairy-yogurt (soy is best), non-dairy milk (again, soy is best), vinegar and vanilla extract in a jug.
Sift together plain flour, cornflour (cornstarch), cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together softened vegan block butter (I like Naturli Vegan Block best), sunflower oil and caster sugar until it is light and fluffy.
Whisk in a third of the dry ingredients, then half of the wet ingredients, another third of the dry, the rest of the wet, then the rest of the dry.
Gently stir in red gel food colouring until the batter reaches the desired shade. Bear in mind that it will be darker once it is baked so make it a little lighter than you want it to end up.
Pour three quarters of the batter into a greased and lined 23cm/9 inch square cake tin. Divide the rest of the batter between 6-7 cupcake cases in a muffin tin.
Bake the cakes in a preheated oven until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 20 minutes for the cupcakes and 30 minutes for the large cake.
Remove them from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
Piping Gel:
Vegan Buttercream:
Place vegetable shortening and softened vegan block butter (NOT the spreadable kind in a tub, it must come in a solid stick. I like Naturli Vegan Block best) in a bowl and whisk together with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add sifted icing sugar, vinegar, lemon juice and vanilla extract and whick on a high speed for a good few minutes until light and fluffy.
Assembly:
Use an 8cm round cookie cutter to cut as many circles as you can out of the large red velvet cake. You need six circles to make three mini cakes.
Ganache:
Place dairy free white chocolate and coconut cream in a bowl, microwave in short bursts, stirring regularly, until melted and smooth.
(Or place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Don't let the base of the bowl touch the water).
Add food colouring a little at a time until it reaches a blood red shade. Set aside until cooled and thickened but still pourable.
Remove the cakes from the fridge or freezer and drizzle some of the ganache over one side of each cake (if it has thickened too much you can give it a very short blast in the microwave to melt it a bit). Place a heart on top of each cake and serve.
If the hearts don't want to sit in place, use a toothpick to pin them to the cakes.
Top Tips:
Don't paint the hearts or assemble the cakes until shortly before serving as the fondant will soak up the moisture and become soft.
You can bake the cakes and make the piping gel a day or two in advance.
Once assembled (but not painted with piping gel!) the hearts will keep in an airtight container for up to two days.
The mini cakes cake be filled and coated with buttercream a day in advance and stored in the fridge.
You will need food colouring in both red and black shades. I use Sugarflair.
As for what to do with the cake scraps, they can be frozen for up to two months and used in a trifle or to make some Halloweeny cake pops.
Berry Coulis:
For extra flavour, I recommend serving these mini bleeding heart Halloween cakes with berry coulis, which has the added bonus of looking like blood.
To make it just simmer 250g mixed frozen berries with 60g sugar and 60ml water until softened and slightly thickened, then puree the mixture and press it through a sieve to remove the seeds.
Don't pour it on until you are ready to serve though as the moisture may melt the hearts.
MORE HALLOWEEN RECIPES:
- Vegan tombstone cupcakes
- Mini pentagram topped vegan apple pies
- Witches’ finger cookies
- Chocolate glazed black cat doughnuts
- Halloween haunted pavlova
- Chocolate blackberry gothic Halloween cake
- Meringue bone palace Halloween cake
- Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin pies
- Monochrome cake
Video Instructions:
For the construction of the hearts, it is easier to watch it being done than to attempt to visualize how to do it so I've linked to a helpful video featuring Lily Vanilli herself which shows all of the steps; it's a good idea to watch it through before you start.
If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
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Mini Bleeding Heart Halloween Cakes Recipe (regular version):
(see below for vegan version)
Mini Bleeding Heart Halloween Cakes
Ingredients
Cakes:
- 300 g (2 + ½ cups) plain flour
- 45 g (generous ⅓ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 150 g (½cup + 2tbsp) softened butter
- 400 g (scant 2 cups) caster sugar
- 100 ml (⅓ cup+1tbsp+1tsp) vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs separated
- ½ tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp white wine or cider vinegar
- 240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk
- 2 tsp red gel food colouring (approx)
Piping Gel:
- 70 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar
- 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 60 ml (¼ cup) water
- 60 ml (¼ cup, about 2 medium) lemon juice
- red and black gel food colouring
Buttercream:
- 300 ml (1 + ¼ cups) full fat milk
- 6 tbsp plain flour
- 260 g (1 cup + 2tbsp) softened butter
- 260 g (1 + ¼ cups) caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Ganache:
- 60 g (2 oz) white chocolate chopped
- 40 ml (scant 3 tbsp) double (heavy) cream
- red and black gel food colouring
Hearts:
- about 750g (26oz) red fondant
- about 60g (2oz) black fondant
Instructions
Cakes:
- Bake the cakes the day before you want to assemble them. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease a 23cm/9in square tin and line with baking parchment. Line a muffin tin with fairy cake/small cupcake cases.
- Sift together the flour, cornflour, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and salt, set aside. Using an electric mixer, whisk together the butter and sugar until well combined. Whisk in the oil a little at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla extract and vinegar, beating until well combined.
- With the mixture on a low speed, fold in one third of the flour mixture, followed by half the buttermilk, then another third of flour, the remaining buttermilk then the remaining flour.
- Add red gel food colouring a little at a time until you reach the desired shade, bear in mind that the colour will darken a fair bit when the cakes are baked so you don't need to get it as dark as you want it to be.
- In a clean bowl, vigorously whisk the egg whites with a balloon whisk until good and frothy but not yet beginning to stiffen then fold them into the cake batter.
- Pour about three quarters of the mixture into the square tin then divide the remainder among the cupcake cases, I made five fairy cakes and three cupcakes.
- Place the square tin on the lower middle oven shelf and the cupcake tray on the upper middle one. Bake the cupcakes for about 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean; remove the cupcakes from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. The large cake will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour to cook, cover loosely with foil towards the end of baking if the top starts to brown too much.
- Place the tin on a wire rack and leave the cake to cool in the tin. Once cooled, store the cake and cupcakes in an airtight container.
Piping Gel:
- Place the cornflour in a small saucepan and gradually stir in the water to make a smooth paste, add the sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth then place over a medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture comes to the boil and thickens; it should go from being white coloured to almost translucent. Scrape into a bowl, cover and leave to cool.
- Once cooled, add red gel food colouring, along with a teeny bit of black, a little at a time until the gel is a deep, dark blood-red colour. Store in an airtight container.
Buttercream:
- Place the flour in a saucepan, whisk in the milk a little at a time until it is all combined. Place the pan over a medium-high heat and whisk constantly until it thickens to a very thick pudding-like consistency. Scrape into a bowl, cover with clingfilm directly on the surface and refrigerate until cooled.
- Whisk together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed for at least five minutes until very light and fluffy. Whisk in the vanilla extract and salt then whisk in the milk and flour mixture a spoonful at a time until it is all incorporated. Continue to mix until the buttercream is very smooth and fluffy.
Ganache:
- Place the chocolate and cream in a bowl, microwave in short bursts, stirring regularly, until melted and smooth. Add food colouring a little at a time until it reaches a blood red shade. Set aside until cooled and thickened but still pourable.
Hearts:
- Knead a bit of black fondant into the red fondant to darken it. Break off a piece (about 125g worth) and roll into a ball. Sprinkle a work surface lightly with icing sugar. Roll out the fondant into a rough rectangle about 5mm thick.
- Remove the liner from one of the cakes and place it in the middle of the rectangle, fold the two long ends over the cupcake to make a parcel. Fold in the bottom end and trim off the excess. Use your hands to mould it into a sort of heart shape, don't worry too much about any creases or folds, they look great once the hearts have been painted with piping gel. Trim a bit of the excess fondant off the top and use your fingers to form three arteries. Watch the video I linked to above to get a better idea of the technique, it's easier to watch than attempt to visualise the technique.
- Repeat with the remaining cupcakes, you can re-use the fondant trimmings. Once the hearts are formed, use a soft paintbrush to brush them all over with the coloured piping gel, I brushed it on quite thickly so it looks like congealed blood.
Assembly:
- Turn the cake out of its tin and peel off the parchment paper. Trim the top of the cake to level if needed (mine baked perfectly flat). Use a 8cm (3in) round straight sided pastry cutter to cut out as many circles of cake as you can, I got six.
- Use a blob of buttercream to stick one cake round to a serving plate. Spread over a dollop more then place another cake round on top, upside down so that the top is perfectly flat. Carefully spread a thin layer of buttercream over the whole cake, it is quite soft so be gentle; I found the easiest way to do it was to hold the cake steady by placing two fingers on the top while I iced the sides, then gently spread buttercream over the top. It will be very full of crumbs, this is fine and exactly why crumb coats are important! Just make sure you don't get any crumbs back in the bowl of buttercream.
- Repeat these steps to make two more mini cakes then place them all in the freezer for about 15 minutes or so until firm.
- Spread another, thick layer of buttercream over each cake, using a dough scraper or pallet knife to get it smooth and even. It should be easier to spread this time as the cakes are firm. Once the cakes are smooth, return them to the freezer for another 15 minutes or so.
- Remove the cakes from the freezer and drizzle some of the ganache over one side of each cake (if it has thickened too much you can give it a very short blast in the microwave to melt it a bit). Place a heart on top of each cake and serve.
Notes
- You will need a 23cm/9in square deep cake tin, a muffin tray, fairy cake/ small cupcake liners, an 8cm/3in round pastry cutter, red gel food colouring, black gel food colouring, red fondant, black fondant and a soft paintbrush.
- Makes three mini cakes and about seven hearts.
- Don't paint the hearts or assemble the cakes until shortly before serving as the fondant will soak up the moisture and become soft.
- You can bake the cakes and make the piping gel a day or two in advance.
- Once assembled (but not painted with piping gel!) the hearts will keep in an airtight container for up to two days.
- The mini cakes cake be filled and coated with buttercream a day in advance and stored in the fridge.
- You will need food colouring in both red and black shades. I use Sugarflair.
- As for what to do with the cake scraps, they can be frozen for up to two months and used in a trifle or to make some Halloweeny cake pops.
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
Mini Bleeding Heart Halloween Cakes Vegan Version:
Mini Bleeding Heart Halloween Cakes (Vegan Version)
Ingredients
Vegan Red Velvet Cake:
- 210 g non-dairy yogurt (I use soy)
- 100 ml non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 2 tsp white wine or cider vinegar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 350 g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 35 g cornflour (cornstarch)
- 20 g (2 Tbsp + 1 tsp) cocoa powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 150 g vegan block butter (NOT the spreadable kind. I use Naturli Vegan Block) softened
- 100 ml sunflower oil
- 350 g caster sugar
- red gel food colouring (about 1 tsp)
Piping Gel:
- 1 Tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 60 ml (¼ cup) water
- 60 ml (¼ cup) lemon juice
- 70 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar
- red and black gel food colouring
Vegan Buttercream:
- 170 g vegan block butter (NOT the spreadable kind. I use Naturli Vegan Block) softened
- 65 g vegetable shortening (I use Trex)
- 300 g icing (powdered) sugar sifted
- 2 tsp cider vinegar
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Vegan Ganache:
- 60 g (2oz) dairy free white chocolate chopped
- 45 ml (3 Tbsp) coconut cream
- red and black gel food colouring
To Assemble:
- about 750 g (26oz) red fondant
- about 60 g (2oz) black fondant
Instructions
Vegan Red Velvet Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease a 23cm/9inch square cake tin and line with baking parchment. Line a muffin tin with 6-7 cupcake cases.
- Whisk together non the dairy-yogurt, non-dairy milk, vinegar and vanilla extract in a jug.
- Sift together the plain flour, cornflour (cornstarch), cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the softened vegan block butter, sunflower oil and caster sugar until it is light and fluffy.
- Whisk in a third of the dry ingredients, then half of the wet ingredients, another third of the dry, the rest of the wet, then the rest of the dry.
- Gently stir in red gel food colouring until the batter reaches the desired shade. Bear in mind that it will be darker once it is baked so make it a little lighter than you want it to end up.
- Pour three quarters of the batter into the 23cm/9 inch square cake tin and spread it level. Divide the rest of the batter between the cupcake cases.
- Bake the cakes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 20 minutes for the cupcakes and 30 minutes for the large cake.
- Remove them from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
Piping Gel:
- Place the cornflour (cornstarch) in a saucepan and gradually stir in the water to make a smooth paste, add the lemon juice and caster sugar.
- Whisk until smooth then place over a medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture comes to the boil and thickens; it should go from being white coloured to almost translucent. Scrape into a bowl, cover and leave to cool.
- Once cooled, add red gel food colouring, along with a teeny bit of black, a little at a time until the gel is a deep, dark blood-red colour. Store in an airtight container.
Vegan Buttercream:
- Place vegetable shortening and softened vegan block butter in a bowl and whisk together with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add the sifted icing sugar, vinegar, lemon juice and vanilla extract and whisk on a high speed for a good few minutes until light and fluffy.
Vegan Ganache:
- Place the dairy free white chocolate and coconut cream in a bowl, microwave in short bursts, stirring regularly, until melted and smooth.
- Add food colouring a little at a time until it reaches a blood red shade. Set aside until cooled and thickened but still pourable.
Assembly:
- Use an 8cm round cookie cutter to cut as many circles as you can out of the large red velvet cake. You need six circles to make three mini cakes.
- Use a blob of buttercream to stick one cake round to a serving plate. Spread over a dollop more then place another cake round on top, upside down so that the top is perfectly flat.
- Carefully spread a thin layer of buttercream over the whole cake, it is quite soft so be gentle; I found the easiest way to do it was to hold the cake steady by placing two fingers on the top while I iced the sides, then gently spread buttercream over the top.
- It will be very full of crumbs, this is fine and exactly why crumb coats are important! Just make sure you don't get any crumbs back in the bowl of buttercream. Repeat these steps to make two more mini cakes then place them all in the freezer for about 15 minutes or so until firm.
- Spread another, thick layer of buttercream over each cake, using a dough scraper or pallet knife to get it smooth and even. It should be easier to spread this time as the cakes are firm. Once the cakes are smooth, return them to the freezer for another 15 minutes or so. (Or the fridge if you aren't yet ready to assemble the cakes.)
- To assemble the hearts, knead a bit of black fondant into the red fondant to darken it. Break off a piece (about 125g worth) and roll into a ball. Sprinkle a work surface lightly with icing sugar. Roll out the fondant into a rough rectangle about 5mm thick.
- Remove the liner from one of the cupcakes and place it in the middle of the rectangle, fold the two long ends over the cupcake to make a parcel.
- Trim off some of the excess fondant from one end of the parcel then fold it up. Use your hands to mould it into a sort of heart shape, don't worry too much about any creases or folds, they look great once the hearts have been painted with piping gel.
- Trim a bit of the excess fondant off the top and use your fingers to form three arteries.
- Repeat with the remaining cupcakes, you can re-use the fondant trimmings. Once the hearts are formed, use a soft paintbrush to brush them all over with the coloured piping gel, I brushed it on quite thickly so it looks like congealed blood. (Don't paint them until you are ready to assemble the cakes. The unpainted hearts can be stored in an airtight container for up to a couple of days but once they are painted they will start to soften a bit.)
- Remove the cakes from the fridge or freezer and drizzle some of the ganache over one side of each cake (if it has thickened too much you can give it a very short blast in the microwave to melt it a bit). Place a heart on top of each cake and serve.
- If the hearts don't want to sit in place, use a toothpick to pin them to the cakes.
Notes
- You will need a 23cm/9in square deep cake tin, a muffin tray, fairy cake/ small cupcake liners, an 8cm/3in round pastry cutter, red gel food colouring, black gel food colouring, red fondant, black fondant and a soft paintbrush.
- Makes three mini cakes and about 6-7 hearts.
- Don't paint the hearts or assemble the cakes until shortly before serving as the fondant will soak up the moisture and become soft.
- You can bake the cakes and make the piping gel a day or two in advance.
- Once assembled (but not painted with piping gel!) the hearts will keep in an airtight container for up to two days.
- The mini cakes cake be filled and coated with buttercream a day in advance and stored in the fridge.
- You will need food colouring in both red and black shades. I use Sugarflair.
- As for what to do with the cake scraps, they can be frozen for up to two months and used in a trifle or to make some Halloweeny cake pops.
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
Ardis
Too cool!
Sally hossack
Oh god that heart is gruesomely realistic! what a clever, gorey masterpiece Hannah
hannahhossack
They are a bit gruesome aren't they?! So much fun to make though 🙂
Ai @Ai made it for you
Omg that is seriously AMAZING.
hannahhossack
Thank you!
Meena@ AnchoredinSweets
WOW! This is disgusting. haha! Perfect for HALLOWEEN!
It looks so real.
Great job!
#saucysaturdays
hannahhossack
Haha! They are pretty gross looking! Tasty though 🙂
Miranda
Wow! Is cake is incredible! The heart looks literally perfect!
hannahhossack
A little too perfect maybe...I couldn't bring myself to eat a heart! The cake underneath was delicious though!