How to Make a Heart Shaped Cake for Valentine’s Day

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A heart shaped cake for Valentine’s Day or any day is easy and delicious and takes no many pans, only a standard 9″ round and 9″ square pan.

Good afternoon friends, this weekend is not only Valentine’s Day but it is going to be a cold, icy and snowy weekend, the perfect time to be in the kitchen baking. I love baking on cold, winter days, the sweet sugar scent of a cake or cookies wafting in the air and the anticipation of a tasty warm treat to come. This week I made a heart shaped cake and I didn’t even use a fancy pan, I simply used a 9″square pan, and a 9″ round pan, once baked you simply cut the round cake in half and attach it to the square cake and voila, a heart shaped cake.

White Cake

Recipe from Add a Pinch

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

3 cups sugar

5 eggs, room temperature

3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Note: This cake recipe makes 3 cake layers, and you only need 2 for this heart shaped cake, you can use the extra batter to make cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare 1 9″ square cake pan and 1 9″ round cake pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper then spray again and set aside.

Cream together the butter and shortening until light and fluffy, you can use a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or a hand held mixer. Slowly add the 3 cups of sugar, one cup at a time making sure to incorporate the sugar fully before adding the other. Then add the eggs one at a time, be sure to incorporate each egg before adding another.

In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then in another bowl whisk together the milks, vanilla and almond extracts. Add to the butter/shortening mixture, alternating between the milk and the flour mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Mix in all of the ingredients until well mixed then stop mixer and scrape bottom and sides of bowl to be sure that you have incorporate the ingredients from the bottom of the bowl. Pour the batter into the cake pans, be sure not fill the pans 2/3-3/4 of the way to the top, you do not want the pans to overflow into the oven. With the remaining batter fill cupcake liners or another cake pan to use at a later date. Then bake for 25-30 minutes( cupcakes take about 15-19 minutes). Insert toothpick and if it comes out clean remove cakes from oven and let cool.

Once the cakes have cooled take the round cake and cut it in half, then take the square cake and set it on a platter so that it looks like a diamond shape, add a little frosting to the sides and then stick the two moon shaped pieces from the round cake to the sides to form a heart shape. Frost with frosting and decorate with sprinkles.

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

INGREDIENTS

2 cups softened butter

3-4 cups of sifted powdered sugar

1-3 tablespoons of milk, I used almond milk

2-3 tablespoons of vanilla extract

food coloring, pink

sprinkles, colored sugar

DIRECTIONS

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter for 3-4 minutes, you want the butter to be light and creamy, scrape down the sides periodically. The add the sifted powder sugar and mmix on low until incorporated, then turn the mixer on medium-high and beat until fluffy, 1 minute. Then add the vanilla and the milk, and beat again. Check the frosting for taste, you might need to add a little more powdered sugar if you want it to be sweeter. The same with the milk, you can add a little more to get it to a spreadable consistency. Be careful not to add to much milk. I like to divid the frosting into bowls and then mix in the food coloring by hand. You can then frost the cupcakes using a knife and add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Once cupcakes are frosted decorate with sprinkles and enjoy!

NOTE: If you would like a cake that is a little easier to make, try this white almond cake, it starts with a mix and is delicious as well.