How To Make A Heart Shaped Cake Recipe

Here are a few more Valentine’s Day treats to try since, after all, the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach! Strawberry cupcakes, Valentine’s buddies, and pink velvet cake are all as delicious as they are cute!

Heart-Shaped Valentine’s Day Cake Recipe

What better way to show your love for someone than with a fun, festive cake? This heart-shaped cake tastes as good as it looks, each bite loaded with tangy chocolate flavor! It all starts with my tried and true red velvet cake recipe, topped with amazing homemade cream cheese frosting! As long as you’ve got a square and round pan, you can make this tasty holiday dessert in a cinch. It’s so good! This cake is so tasty and easy to assemble! Valentine’s Day aside, this beautiful dessert is great for birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, or whenever you want to show a little extra love. There’s no wrong time for cake! One bite of this moist red velvet and you’ll win the hearts of everyone around! It’s just as easy to make as box mix but tastes a thousand times better. Time to grab the ingredients out of your pantry and get baking!

Ingredients for Heart-Shaped Cake

Don’t be fooled by the longer ingredient list, this cake is made from all basic ingredients! I bet you’ve got all of them in your pantry right now! Once you’ve got your lovely red cake baking away in the oven, you only need 4 simple ingredients to put the best cream cheese frosting together. It’s a breeze!

All-Purpose Flour: I love using all-purpose flour for baking. It has a low protein content which makes it perfect for light and fluffy cakes!Cocoa Powder: Use your favorite here! I always go for dutch process cocoa because it has a richer flavor.Baking Soda and Baking Powder: Both are a must for a cake that rises properly!Granulated Sugar: Added to sweeten up your cake.Salt: Keeps your cake from being bland! Salt is a flavor enhancer.Buttermilk: The acidity in buttermilk is what gives red velvet its distinct flavor. It also helps to tenderize your cake and keep it nice and moist!Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil binds fats together and adds moisture to your cake.Large Eggs: Needed to bind everything together!White Vinegar: Now, I know what you’re thinking. Vinegar in cake? Believe it or not, you can’t taste the vinegar at all in your cake, only a slight tangy flavor which tastes amazing in combination with cocoa powder!Vanilla Extract: Add a little vanilla extract to sweeten and deepen the flavor of your cake. Pure vanilla extract works best!Liquid Red Food Coloring: This is what will give your red velvet its signature color. You can add more or less depending on how vibrant you want your cake to be.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream Cheese: I always use full-fat cream cheese for the tastiest results. Sorry diet!Unsalted Butter: Butter adds a rich flavor to your frosting and keeps it nice and smooth.Vanilla Extract: Adds a great flavor to your frosting. See my tips below for more flavor variations!Powdered Sugar: Makes your frosting nice and sweet! Powdered sugar also helps everything to mix together into a smooth consistency.

How to Make Your Heart-Shaped Cake

I’ve broken this recipe down into 3 simple parts. The cake, the frosting, and how to put it all together! You’ll have a gorgeous heart-shaped cake made in no time!

Making the Cream Cheese Frosting

Assembly

Use Room Temperature Ingredients: The best way to get a batter that is nice and smooth is to use room temperature wet ingredients. If possible, put eggs and any dairy products out on the counter 30 minutes before you make your cake.Make Your Own Buttermilk: If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, it’s super easy to make at home! You can find my 2-ingredient recipe here.Don’t Overmix: Only mix your cake batter until smooth. If you overmix, gluten will develop, giving your cake a rubbery texture.Switch Up Frosting: For a more chocolatey version of your heart-shaped cake, try using my chocolate cream cheese frosting instead. White chocolate buttercream is also a great choice if you want something on the sweeter side!Don’t Skip the Crumb Coat: Think of that first layer of frosting as glue to mold your cake pieces together and hold in any stray crumbs. Once that’s down, your next layer of frosting will go on nice and smooth!

In the Refrigerator: Since the cake is covered in cream cheese frosting, it’s best to store it in the fridge. Wrapped in plastic wrap, your heart-shaped cake will stay good for up to 5 days. I like to let my cake come to room temperature before serving.In the Freezer: To freeze your cake, wrap tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap. Use within a month for best results. Let thaw in the fridge overnight before consuming.