These 18th century Heart Cakes are a variation on Queen Cakes, which were often baked in heart-shaped tins as a Valentine’s Gift. This recipe, from Charlotte Mason’s 1777 book The Lady’s Assistant, spruces up a basic queen cake recipe with the addition of candied orange peel and citron.

Heart Cakes (1/4 of original recipe, makes about 7 cakes):

• 75g Butter
• 2 whole eggs, 1 egg yolk
• 75g Sugar
• 75g Plain Flour*
• 1 tbsp Brandy
• 75g Currants
• 13g / 1 dsp mixed peel, chopped

1. Cream together the butter and sugar.
2. Beat the eggs and yolk in a separate bowl until they are smooth and thick.
3. Add the eggs and flour alternately to the creamed butter and sugar.
4. Add the brandy, and beat the mixture thoroughly for another minute. Stir in the currants.
5. Spoon the batter into greased heart-shaped tins. Fill each about halfway full, sprinkle in the chopped citron and orange peel, then top up with an extra spoonful of batter. Don’t fill them any more than about 2/3 full – they will rise.
6. Bake at 180 degrees for about 25 – 35 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown and start to shrink away from the sides of the tin.
7. You can serve them plain as is, or top them with icing; either would be appropriate for the 18th century.

*This recipe predates modern raising agents – so relies on a lot of whipping to add air to get the rise. You could use Self Raising Flour and treat it as a normal modern cup cake recipe.