When I need some fun and festive dessert recipes for Valentine’s Day, I turn to options like heart cookies, red velvet brownies, chocolate covered cherries, black forest cupcakes, chocolate fondue and this beautiful heart cake. Nothing says “I love you” like a heart, and this heart cake is the perfect dessert to celebrate the important people in your life. This recipe includes a tutorial on how to cut a heart shape out of round cakes, which means you don’t need to purchase a special pan!
Heart Cake Ingredients
To make this cake, you will need all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract, white vinegar, instant coffee, red food coloring, butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese and sprinkles.
How Do You Make A Heart Cake?
For The Cake
The first step is to prepare the cake layers. Preheat the oven, then coat two round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms and sides with parchment paper. Soak cake baking strips in water, then wrap the strips around the pans after the batter goes in. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl of a mixer. Add the sugar to the bowl, then stir to combine. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, vanilla, coffee diluted in water and red food coloring. Turn on the mixer to low speed, then slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Be sure not to overmix the batter. Divide the batter between the two pans, then bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cakes for 20 minutes, then invert them onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
For The Frosting
While the cakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. Place the butter and vanilla extract in the bowl of a mixer, and cream to combine. Turn the mixer to low, then add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until everything is blended. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add the cream cheese to the butter and sugar and beat until you have a smooth and creamy frosting.
For The Heart Shape
To assemble the cake, trim the tops of the cakes to create flat, even layers. Place one cake on a cake stand close to the bottom edge. Pipe a thin layer of frosting over the cake layer with a medium round tip, then add the second layer on top. Use a serrated knife to score a cross shape on top of the cake. On each side, cut a wedge from the bottom point of the cross to the horizontal point of the cross. Turn the cut wedges on their side with the cut portion facing outward. Pipe frosting onto the cut sides, then attach each wedge to the top rounded part of the cake to form a heart shape. Apply a crumb coat of frosting to the cake, then let it chill.
For The Decorating
For the final decorations, add more frosting to the cake, and use a cake scraper to create a smooth, final coat of frosting. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the frosting to make the border. Place the reserved frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe small diagonal lines of frosting to form the border. Add some sprinkles of your choice, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Cake
You can use any sprinkles you like. I went with a blend of red and pink hearts, along with pink pearls and red and pink jimmies. Chilling the cake at intervals in the refrigerator or freezer will help to create a smooth finish of frosting. If you prefer, you can create a textured finish with an offset spatula. Applying a crumb coat helps to prevent any red crumbs in the final layer of frosting. It also provides a firm base to apply the frosting. As the frosting contains cream cheese, keep the cake refrigerated for up to 3 days until required. The cake is best enjoyed at room temperature so one to two hours before serving, remove from the refrigerator. Beating the cream cheese in a separate bowl helps to ensure that there are no lumps in the final frosting. Use a kitchen scale to make sure each cake pan has the same amount of batter. If you have a hand blender, use it instead of a whisk to blend the wet ingredients for the batter. After you attach the cake wedges to the top of the cake, you can cut a V shape in the center between the wedges to accentuate the heart shape.
Flavor Variations
While this cake is beautiful as-is, you can make a few changes to the decorations to customize it to your liking.
Frosting: You can tint the cream cheese frosting a color by adding some gel food coloring. Sometimes I like to turn the frosting pink! Sprinkles: Instead of sprinkles, try topping the cake with fresh fruit such as strawberries or raspberries. Maraschino cherries are also a great option.
This heart cake is beautiful, delicious, and so impressive. It’s sure to be a huge hit with your sweetheart!
