Show your loved ones your devotion with these Victoria sponge hearts! With all the flavor of a real heart and none of the mess, these scrumptious snacks are topped with a candy butterfly to mimic the effects of Joy! 

Ingredients (Makes 6-8 Large Sponges, 8-12 Butterflies)

Victoria Sponge Cake:

  • 3/4 cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup of caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup self-rising flour, sifted
  • Strawberry jam or preserves
  • OPTIONAL: A pinch of powdered sugar

Whipped Cream:

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp powdered sugar
  • A splash of vanilla extract

Candy Butterflies:

  • 1 8 oz package of brown candy melts
  • 1 8 oz package of candy melts in your preferred colors (we recommend orange and blue)
  • OPTIONAL: A printed butterfly stencil or photograph to use as a guide

Directions

To Make the Victoria Sponges

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Grease the interiors of a heart-shaped cupcake tin.

TIP: We used a six-cupcake tin, which produced a standard sized cake. For smaller cakes, use an eight or twelve-cupcake tin.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fully combined.

3. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar one at a time, and mix thoroughly. Add the vanilla extract.

4. Carefully add the self-rising flour to the wet mixture, and stir until fully combined into a smooth batter.

5. Pour the batter evenly into each cup in the cupcake tin.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Allow the cakes to cool in their tin for 5 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

TIP: To ensure the sponge firms up, cover the sponges and place in the fridge for a couple hours. This will make it easier to cut them evenly.

8. If necessary, use a serrated knife to remove the rounded tops of the cakes, then cut each cake in half.

9. Spread the bottom half of each cake with a layer of strawberry jam or preserves.

10. To make the whipped cream, combine heavy cream and powdered sugar, then beat until light and fluffy.

11. Pipe or spoon the whipped cream on top of the jam layer.

12. Sandwich the two halves together.

To Make the Candy Butterflies:

1. To make the candy butterflies, melt the candy melts as instructed on the packaging. If the candy hardens during the construction process, reheat as needed.

2. Transfer each color to its own piping bag.

3. Fold a piece of parchment paper in half, then unfold and spread on a flat surface. Using the brown candy melt, pipe the outline of a butterfly, with the wings on either side of the paper crease.

4. Pipe a straight line down the middle of the parchment crease to form the body, with two thinner offshoots at the top for the antenna.

5. Fill in the butterfly with the colored candy melts, in whichever combination you’d prefer.

TIP: Feel free to get creative with your butterfly designs! Try piping thin lines or spots on the wings, or take a toothpick and use it to swirl some of the outline into the colors! You can even fold the parchment paper in half to create a more abstract pattern!

6. Allow the candy melt to harden, then carefully separate from the parchment paper.

TIP: To give the butterflies more pronounced dimension, place the parchment paper crease within the pages on an open book or magazine.

7. Top the Victoria sponges with a butterfly!

TIP: If the butterfly breaks down the middle, carefully press the wings into the Victoria sponges, then pipe a clean brown line in the space between them to maintain the look of a butterfly.