Double-Chocolate Valentine Cake

Cake

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process preferred)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed golden or light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup fat-free milk
• 2 tablespoons acceptable vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons apple
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• egg whites from 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 or 9-inch heart-shaped pan with vegetable oil spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and baking powder. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, milk, oil and applesauce until smooth. Gradually whisk the flour mixture into the sugar mixture. Stir in vanilla.

Whip egg whites until stiff. Fold into chocolate cake batter, being careful not to deflate whites. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes until cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool cake on a wire rack. Spread with chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze

• 2 1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons freeze-dried coffee
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process preferred)
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk ingredients together until smooth. Pour over cake, allowing glaze to run over sides of cake.

White Glaze

Whisk together 2/3 cup sifted confectioners sugar with 1 tablespoon fat-free milk. Snip one corner from a small plastic bag to form a tiny hole; pour glaze into bag. Squeeze glaze in thin, parallel lines about ½ to 1 inch apart horizontally across top of cake. At ½ to 1 inch intervals, pull vertically over top of cake with a sharp knife, drawing through lines of white glaze and across the chocolate, creating a feathered pattern. When glaze has dried, transfer cake to a serving platter.