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Mini layer cakes dusted with confectioners' sugar and garnished with pistachios and dried roses

Mini Heart Cakes

Delightful individual servings of heart-shaped sponge cake filled with a creamy mixture of mascarpone cream flavored with rosewater. A simple garnish of confectioners' sugar is dusted on top of each cake with finely chopped pistachios and organic dried rosebuds.
4.75 from 8 votes
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 2 -4 Servings
Calories: 836kcal
Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

For the Sponge Cake:

  • 3 eggs room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar 200g
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons cold water
  • 1 cup 120g all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Rosewater Simple Syrup:

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon rosewater

For the Rose Mascarpone Cream:

  • 1 8-ounce package of mascarpone, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon rose water or to taste

To Garnish the Cakes:

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar sifted
  • 1/2 cup of roasted pistachio nuts finely chopped
  • Dried rosebuds for garnish

Instructions

For the Sponge Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 375°
  • Line a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with parchment paper. Spray the paper with non-stick spray; set aside.
  • In a large bowl, beat eggs for 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar and vanilla extract; beat for 2 minutes or until mixture becomes thick and lemon-colored. Stir in water. 
  • Combine dry ingredients; fold into egg mixture. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
  • Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 12-14 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched in the center.
  • Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the outer edges with a knife, turn onto a wire cooling rack and remove the parchment paper.   
  • Place the bottom of the baking pan on the top of the cake, grasp both the pan and wire rack together and flip the cake over so the top is on the bottom of the baking pan.  Slide the cake onto the wire rack, top up.
  • When the cake is completely cool, trim off the crisp edges and use a medium or large size, heart-shaped cookie cutter and cut …..hearts.  Each serving will need two heart cakes.  There will be cake space to cut 4 small heart shapes as well.

For the Rosewater Simple Syrup:

  • In a small saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil; simmer until the sugar is dissolved, about 3-4 minutes.  Let cool completely then whisk in the rosewater and reserve until needed.

For the Rose Mascarpone Cream Filling:

  • In a stand mixer, or electric hand held mixer (see notes) fitted with the paddle attachment, add the softened cream cheese, sugar, salt and rose water. Beat together until smooth and creamy. Stop the motor and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the whisk attachment. 
  • With the mixing speed on low, add the heavy cream and slowly raise the speed and beat until the mixture is thick and creamy and has formed firm peaks.

To assemble:

  • Drizzle one side of each heart shaped cake with 1 tablespoon of the rosewater syrup so they will be sandwiched with the drizzled sides together.
  • Gently spread one side of the heart-shaped cakes with a generous portion of the creamy mascarpone filling.  Stack another heart-shaped cake on top of the cream filling of each cake.  Press down slightly to ‘glue’ the cakes to the filling.  Transfer the cakes to the refrigerator and chill for 1 hour before serving.  

Finishing the Cakes:

  • Transfer the cakes to a cooling rack set over parchment paper.
  • Sift a light dusting of confectioners’ sugar over the top of the cakes and garnish each cake with the finely chopped pistachios. Place 1 or 2 dried rosebuds attractively on the cakes.  Transfer the cakes to individual serving plates and enjoy.

Notes

  • This thin cake will bake quickly, over baking will produce a dry, tough cake. Bake the cake until the center is just springy when touched.
  • Sponge cakes tend to be a little on the dry side and a simple syrup adds moisture to the cake. As a general rule sponge cakes can hold 2-3 tablespoons of syrup for every egg used in the cake recipe. The less oil and butter in a sponge cake recipe the more syrup the cake will hold without getting soggy.
  • Optional: The simple syrup can be applied to the top of the cake before the hearts are cut out.
  • Rosewater has a wonderful flavor but can be overpowering and leave a bitter taste if too much is added. When making the mascarpone cream, begin cautiously with a small portion of rosewater and increase in increments until as per the taste test.
  • Rosewater can be found in the baking section of must grocery stores or online. This is what we used.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 836kcal | Carbohydrates: 145g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 183mg | Sodium: 451mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 117g