Hidden Heart Cake

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Butter or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs, along with the milk and vanilla extract.
In another bowl or the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat, on medium high speed, until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between each egg.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the second half and mix just until combined, no more.
Add in the milk and mix just until combined. You don’t want to over-mix it. The batter will be thick.
Spoon the batter into your prepared loaf pan and level the top. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until the center is set and the top is brown. You can check the center with a toothpick to see if it’s done.
Remove from the oven and let cool at room temperature for about 30min and then transfer it in the fridge for a 2 or 3 hours or in the freezer for 30min. Cooling your cake like this will make slicing and cutiing heart shapes much easier (without the cake crumbling)

Butter, or spray with a non- stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 5 inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan
In a small bowl mix the cocoa powder into the brewed hot coffe.
In a separate bowl, whisk the cake flour with the baking powder and salt.
In another bowl or the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat, on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between each egg.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl as needed. Beat in the cooled cocoa mixture. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture (in two additions) along with the milk (in one addition) and mix only until combined.

If you are hiding multiple hearts:
Once the vanilla pound cake is chilled, using the depth of the heart cookie cutter as a guide, cut the pound cake into slices the same thickness as the cookie cutter. Now using the cookie cutter, cut out the hearts of each slice.
To make the cake with multiple layers you will need to arrange the hearts in a few layers.(I did mine in 4)
Butter or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Transfer some of the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin, just enough to create a thin layer of batter at the bottom. Arrange the sponge hearts in a row along one side of the loaf tin.
Pour enough cake batter to cover the hearts, and proceed by arranging sponge hearts in another row along the other side of the loaf tin (the opposite side from the first layer of sponge hearts). Pour again from the chocolate cake batter, just enough to cover this layer of heart sponges.
Repeat these steps until you finish all your heart sponges (and acheive the desired number layers) . You should finish your cake with a layer of chocolate cake batter (as the last layer).
Bake for about 1h or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Once the vanila pound cake is chilled, using the depth of the heart cookie cutter as a guide, cut the pound cake into slices the same thickness as the cookie cutter. Now using the cookie cutter, cut out the hearts of each slice.
Butter or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Transfer some of the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin, just enough to create a thin layer of batter at the bottom. Arrange the sponge hearts in a row along one side of the loaf tin.
Arrange the sponge hearts in a row along the middle of the loaf tin. Pour/spoon the rest of the chocolate batter around and over the row of sponge hearts, smooth out the top and and bake in the pre-heated oven at 355 ºF (180 ºC) for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the loaf tin for about 10 minutes, then remove from the tin, and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
The hidden heart cake keeps well in a closed container in a cool dry place for 3 - 4 days.