This post is sponsored by Ghirardelli. Thank you for supporting the companies that help make this blog possible.

Is there any better way to say I LOVE YOU then with cake? Chocolate Buttermilk Cake, with Dark Chocolate Ganache Filling and Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Icing – now that combo has to express your affection.

I teamed up with Ghirardelli to make these sweet little Valentine’s Day cakes. They are perfect for a little Galentine’s Day get together, a romantic dessert for two, or box them up and deliver them to the folks you love. Each cake is topped with a Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel Duet Heart and Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Duet Heart and then lots of fresh fruit and edible flowers.

And while these look like something you might buy at a fancy bakery, they are actually very easy to make. This chocolate cake is my go-to recipe that I’ve been making since I was a teenager. And the Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Icing is my mom’s recipe that she has perfected over the years. And it might be my all time favorite frosting. You don’t need to have a special heart shaped baking pan to make these, I simply baked the cake on a large sheet pan and then cut the hearts out with a large heart shaped cookie cutter.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup Ghirardelli 100% Cocoa
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup butter
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a large cookie sheet pan or jelly roll pan with parchment paper.

In a small pan, bring the water and butter to a boil and then simmer until the butter is fully melted. Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, salt and cocoa. Mix with a whisk to combine.

In a small dish, dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk. Add the eggs and beat with a fork.

Add the water and butter mixture and the egg and buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined and there are no lumps. Pour the batter into the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 mins. at 400 F.

All the cake to cool completely. Using a large heart shaped cookie cutter (mine was 4 inches wide) cut out 12 hearts.

Then the cakes are layered with dark chocolate ganache in the center and a generous amount of buttercream piped all over the tops of the cakes.

Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Icing

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tbsp. strawberry puree

In a blender or food processer, place about 6 strawberries, blend until a pureed.

In a stand mixer, place the room temperature butter and beat. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and strawberry puree. Beat on high for at least 4 mins. or until the icing is very light and fluffy.

To assemble the cakes, place the first tier on a plate, pipe the outside edge with the Fresh Strawberry Buttercream and then fill the middle with Dark Chocolate Ganache. Then place a second heart shaped cake on top and pipe the entire top of the cake with the buttercream.

Then embellish the tops of the cakes with Ghirardelli Chocolates, fresh fruit and edible flowers. Here’s some ideas for fruits and flowers that work well on cakes.

Fruit

• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Kiwis
• Blackberries
• Gooseberries
• Blueberries

Edible Flowers

• Camomile
• Pansies
• Violets
• Mint Leaves
• Lavender
• Hibiscus
• Carnation
• Nasturtium
• Peony

Easy Dark Chocolate Ganache

• 4 oz. bar of Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate 60% Cacao Baking Bar
• 1/4 cup heaving whipping cream

Place the heaving whipping cream in a small pot and heat on the stove top till it just comes to a simmer (do not bring to a boil).

Place the chocolate bar in a blender or food processor and pulse until the chocolate bar is small crumbles. Pour in the very warm cream and pulse again until the chocolate melts completely.

While the ganache is still warm, spread the ganache in the center of the bottom tier of each cake. You can be quite generous with this.

Note: I piped a little wall of buttercream on the bottom tier to start, this helped hold my ganache in the center of the cake. (see image above)

And these little cakes are perfect for gifting. Box them up, add a bow and deliver them to all the folks you love. And now I’m ready for Valentine’s Day!