Key to My Heart Entremet
Forget flowers! Inside this beautiful jewelry box cake is the gift we all really want for Valentine's Day: silky cheesecake mousse, perfectly moist graham cracker cake, and a raspberry heart center.
Listen. This is clearly a Valentine’s Day recipe. There’s no hiding it. But if you make this for yourself, then it’s an act of self love, and honestly that’s kind of metal when you think about it.
Servings: 6 | Prep Time: 2 h 50 m | Cook Time: 28 to 32 m | Chill Time: 9 to 12 h
9” x 6” rectangular cake pan
Hand-mixer / Stand-mixer
Plastic wrap
Cake leveler
Blender / Food processor
Fine-mesh sieve
Heavy-bottomed saucepans
¾” heart-shaped cutter (link)
Large piping bag
Large round piping tip
Square mold (link)
Offset spatula
Heat-safe bowl
Keyhole mold (link)
Small paintbrush
Candy thermometer
Immersion blender
Wire rack
Graham Cracker Cake:
1 ½ cups fine graham cracker crumbs (about 13 full sheets)
½ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup + 2 tbsp butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk, room temp
Raspberry Jelly Hearts:
½ cup water, cold, divided
1 ½ tsp gelatin powder
6 oz raspberries, room temp
6 tbsp sugar
½ tsp lemon juice
Cheesecake Mousse:
20 oz block cream cheese, room temp
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
½ tsp salt
¼ cup sour cream
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
⅔ cup heavy whipping cream, cold
Golden Keyhole Decorations:
50 g bright white candy melts
½ tsp edible gold dust
Golden Mirror Glaze:
1 tbsp + ½ tsp gelatin powder
⅓ cup water, cold
2 cups sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
½ cup water
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
¾ cup + 1 tbsp dry milk powder
¼ cup canola oil
2 tsp edible gold dust
Graham Cracker Cake (35 minutes + 28 to 32 minutes baking + 2 hours chilling)
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 9” x 6” pan and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the fine graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using a hand-mixer or stand-mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until well-incorporated.
Add ⅓ of the flour mixture until just combined.
Mix in half of the buttermilk.
Add another ⅓ of the flour mixture, then the remaining buttermilk, then the remaining flour, mixing until just combined after each addition. Be careful not to overmix.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Carefully run a knife around the edge of the cake, then flip immediately onto a wire cooling rack and remove the parchment.
Let cool completely.
Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until firm, at least 1 hour.
With a sharp knife, trim off the caramelized edges of the cake and cut into six 2 ¼” x 2 ¼” squares.
Using a cake leveler, cut the cake squares to ¾” in height.
Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 hour, or until assembly.
Raspberry Jelly Hearts (25 min + 3 to 4 hours chilling)
In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup of the cold water and the gelatin powder. Set aside to bloom.
In a blender or food processor, puree the raspberries until smooth.
Press the puree through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds. You should end up with ½ cup of puree.
In a small saucepan, combine the seedless raspberry puree, sugar, lemon juice, and remaining ¼ cup water.
Over medium heat, bring mixture just to a simmer.
Remove from heat and whisk in the bloomed gelatin.
Pour the raspberry jelly mixture into a wide, shallow container, so that the jelly is ¾” to 2” thick.
Cover, and transfer to the fridge to chill until set, about 1 to 2 hours.
Once set, transfer the raspberry jelly to the freezer and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
Once firm, use a ¾” heart-shaped cutter to cut out the jelly centers, working quickly so they do not melt.
The jelly hearts should be about 2” long. If they come out shorter than that, you can combine two or more to fill the width of the mold.
Keep frozen until ready to place in the molds.
Cheesecake Mousse (30 minutes + 4 to 6 hours chilling)
In a large bowl, with a hand-mixer or stand-mixer, whisk the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and salt together until creamy.
Add the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla, whisking until fully combined. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, with a hand-mixer or stand-mixer, whisk the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks begin to form.
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until well-combined.
Transfer the cheesecake mousse to a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
Pipe a thin layer into the square silicone molds and smooth with an offset spatula.
Place the raspberry jam hearts upside down into the molds so they form a line across the center.
Gently press the hearts down into the mousse so there are no gaps between them. Be careful not to press too hard or the hearts may lose their definition.
Make sure to keep track of which way the hearts are facing in the entremets, so you can face the keyhole decorations the correct direction later. You can either make a mental note or mark the mold in some way, so you don’t forget.
Fill in around the sides of the jelly hearts with the cheesecake mousse, leaving a little over a ¾” space at the top of the mold.
Spread and smooth the mousse with an offset spatula so it fills all the way to the edges and there are no gaps.
Place the graham cracker cake squares in the molds, pressing down into the mousse slightly to remove any air pockets.
Fill in around the sides of the cake with the mousse to completely fill the mold.
Spread a thin layer of mousse on top of the cake and smooth with the offset spatula, scraping off any excess so the top is flush with the edge of the mold.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer until firm, 4 to 6 hours or overnight. Keep frozen until ready to glaze.
Golden Keyhole Decorations (30 minutes)
In a heat-safe bowl, microwave the candy melts for 30 seconds, then stir.
Continue microwaving in 15 second bursts, stirring in between, until fully melted.
Mix in the edible gold dust until fully combined.
Pour the golden chocolate into the keyhole mold, stretching the sides of the mold slightly and pressing the chocolate into all the crevices.
Scrape off any excess so the chocolate is flush with the edge.
Chill in the fridge for about 5 minutes, or until hard.
Remove from the molds and set onto a piece of parchment paper.
Dip a small, dry paintbrush into the gold dust and brush it onto the chocolate keyholes until completely coated.
Brush or shake off any excess dust. Set aside.
Golden Mirror Glaze (50 mins)
In a small bowl, whisk together the gelatin powder and ⅓ cup cold water, and set aside to bloom.
In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, and ½ cup water.
Attach a candy thermometer and cook over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 230° F, about 10 minutes.
While the sugar syrup is heating, in a small saucepan, combine the heavy whipping cream and dry milk powder.
Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until milk powder is fully dissolved, and the mixture just comes to a simmer.
Once the sugar syrup has come to temperature, gradually pour the cream mixture into the syrup, stirring constantly, until fully combined and bubbling.
Remove from the heat and stir in the bloomed gelatin, oil, and edible gold dust.
Remove the thermometer and carefully blend the mixture with an immersion blender to fully emulsify.
Return the thermometer to the glaze and set aside.
Take the frozen mousse cakes out of the molds and place on a wire rack above a baking sheet.
Once the glaze has cooled to 90° F, pour ½ of the glaze over the cakes, making sure to coat all sides.
Pour a second coat with the remaining glaze.
Let the glaze firm up for about 5 minutes, before using a hot knife to cut away any drips from the bottom of the cakes.
Carefully place a chocolate keyhole decoration on top of each entremet, facing the keyhole the direction you want people to cut to reveal the hearts inside.
Serve immediately. The mirror glaze will lose its shine and become dull over time, so the entremets are best enjoyed within 24 hours.
Leftovers may be stored covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Enjoy!
Be sure to check out my Best Practices page for tips on how to make this recipe yourself. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and feel free to tag me on Instagram @made.by.shade if you make it!
-Shade