Decadence is a word that just feels inherently guilty. I have to look over both shoulders to make sure no one is watching before I take a bite of something decadent. But, if I share a piece of decadent chocolate, for instance, I feel automatically relieved of all guilt… partly because I have just reduced the calories by half. My favorite person to share rich treats with is my husband.

For Valentine’s Day this year we decided to nix the whole present thing, but I couldn’t resist the desire to bake him something sweet. I scoured recipes online in search of “valentine’s day recipes,” “chocolate hearts,” “romantic treats,” “chocolate cake,” “chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.” And I found… Chocolate Decadence, petite fudgy cakes with an ooey gooey inside.

I had muffin tins and ramekins to bake them in, but they were oh so circular. I dug through my cupboards and shelves and stumbled upon some tartlet pans and heart-shaped tins, both hand-me-downs from Charlie’s grandmother. As soon as his grandma realized my affection for cooking and baking, she was cleaning out her drawers full of kitchen tools and gadgets and passing them my way. I can’t believe I am admitting this, but the heart-shaped tins and tartlet pans sat, untouched, in the bottom of my cupboard for over a year. Love and chocolate decadence were perfect excuses to bring the heart-shaped tins out of hiding.

The day of baking, I came back from the store with butter, milk, sugar, and three different kinds of chocolate. I read and reread the recipe, crossing my fingers I would not mess it up. I pre-measured everything so I could start mise en place, with everything in place.

I started by coating four heart-shaped tins with cooking spray and dusting them with sugar.

I added the sugar, milk, and cocoa to a small saucepan, stirred with a whisk, and brought the mixture to a boil. When the sugar had dissolved, I removed the pan from the heat and stirred in the butter and unsweetened chocolate; then added the flour, vanilla, salt, and egg whites to make a smooth, rich batter. I transferred two tablespoons of batter to each tin, sprinkled semisweet chocolate chips on top, and poured two more tablespoons of batter over the chocolate chips. The decadent treat then made its way into the oven for 20 minutes and onto a cooling rack for 10.

After the chocolate decadence had cooled, I flipped over one of the heart-shaped tins and the chocolate cake gently fell onto the plate. I dusted powdered sugar over the top and served it with a generous scoop of rich, vanilla bean ice cream. My husband and I both looked over our shoulders to make sure no one was watching before we each dug in for a heavenly bite.