Did you know that there really was a St Valentine? Legend has it that in 270 AD, the Roman Emperor Claudius II beheaded a Christian priest for secretly continuing to perform marriage ceremonies for soldiers, for whom marriage was forbidden. His execution took place on February 14, the eve of a pagan spring festival named Lupercalia, the highlight of which was a lottery where young men were randomly paired with eligible young women.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 170°C/150°C fan-forced. Line 6-hole texas (3/4 cup/180ml) or 12-hole standard (1/3 cup/80ml) muffin pan with paper cases.
Combine chocolate and the water in small saucepan; stir over low heat until smooth.
Beat butter, sugar and eggs in small bowl with electric mixer until just combined.
Stir in sifted flour and cocoa, almond meal, then warm chocolate mixture; fold in raspberries. Divide mixture among cases; smooth surface.
Bake large cakes about 55 minutes, small cakes about 45 minutes. Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool.
Remove cases from cakes. On a surface dusted with sifted cocoa, knead chocolate fondant until smooth. Roll out to a thickness of 5mm. Cut out rounds large enough to cover tops of cakes.
Brush cakes with jam; cover cakes with chocolate fondant.
Roll each coloured fondant to a thickness of 5mm. Using heart-shaped cutters of varying sizes to suit size of cakes, cut out hearts from fondant.
Decorate cakes with fondant hearts, each brushed with a little water to secure to each other.
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