My favourite way to express my love is through food. I put all my love and energy into cooking and baking. So, on Valentine's Day, I pull out all the stops to make amazing Valentine's Day dinner and especially Valentine's Day dessert. This heart shaped Valentine cake is super simple to make - this will become one of your favourite cakes to bake for dessert tonight!
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Here's the thing about February in our house, we have not one, but two family birthdays. Both my daughter and my husband have their birthdays in early February. This means that I, and my other daughter, end up baking many, many cakes. We also "celebrate" the Superbowl in February...another fun cake needs to be made. So, we are constantly planning, baking and decorating cakes and desserts all February long.
So, it makes sense that I embrace taking simple shortcuts in our baking. This heart shaped cake is helped along by the use of a box cake mix. Yep, I do love a box cake mix. However, I honestly don't like store-bought tubs of icing. Sorry. I haven't been able to find an icing that tastes as good as homemade. So, this cake has the box cake shortcut and homemade icing that we will colour and use to make a beautiful Valentine's dessert.
How to Make a Heart Shaped Valentine Cake
your favourite chocolate box cake mix
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup icing sugar, plus more as needed
2 tablespoon whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8" round baking pan
8" square baking pan
red gel food colouring
3 piping bags
3 drop flower piping tips
Did you know that you can make a heart shaped cake from a round cake and a square cake? Yep! You don't need a heart shaped pan. This is a great option for folks who don't have a whole lot of room to store extra cake pans. Now, I do have a cute small mini-heart shaped baking pan and I've shared a recipe for making little conversation heart cakes with that pan. But, for this cake, we are taking advantage of our cleverness.
Mix up a batch of your favourite chocolate boxed cake mix. Divide it between an 8-inch round baking pan and an 8-inch square baking pan. If you have 9-inch pans, use those. The most important thing is you have a square and round pan, and you fill them with about the same amount of batter. You want them to bake to about the same height. Bake according to the package instructions and set aside to cool.
While the cake bakes and cools, make the icing. Whip the room temperature butter in a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, until it is creamy and then add in vanilla. Now, add the icing sugar and whipping cream. Start the mixer slooooowly. Or, you will have a big puff of icing sugar everywhere. You want the icing to be smooth and loose, able to be piped. Add more icing sugar and more whipping cream as needed.
Once you have made the icing, it's time to add the colour. I add colouring by dipping a toothpick into the gel and then into the icing. For the lightest pink add one dip of red gel to the icing. Beat with a spatula to incorporate the colour. When you have a light pink, add about ½ cup of the icing to one of the piping bags that you have fit with a star icing tip.
Then add another dip of red gel to the remaining icing and beat it again, adding about ½ cup to the second icing bag. Finish with the darkest pink - another dip or two of red gel and add the remaining icing to a third piping bag. Leave a couple of tablespoons of icing in the bowl.
Let's make the cake! Place the square cake on a large serving tray. Turn it to make a diamond position. Now, cut the round cake in half and place each half on the two, top sides of the diamond. You should have a heart shaped cake. Run a line of the darkest icing between the cut end of the half rounds and press the half rounds into the square - to secure them in place.
Next, use an offset spatula or knife to spread the remaining couple of tablespoons of icing (you left in the bowl) all over the cake. This will be a very thin coat of icing because you are going to cover the cake next.
Okay, now it's time to decorate the heart cake. Have fun. Use the three piping bags to pipe little flowers all over the cake. Make sure to randomly disperse the colours all over the cake.
The more random the better. The three piping tips will give you three different sizes of flowers. When you've covered the entire cake in flowers look over the cake and fill in any little spaces with more small flowers.
This heart cake is surprisingly simple to make. Once you get the hang of making the flowers you'll find yourself covering all your future cakes with little flowers. The fact that we didn't need any fancy baking pans or tools is what I love most about this Valentine's Day dessert. Honestly, I will think this cake would make a sweet baby shower cake, wedding shower cake or even a birthday cake. Don't you?
More Valentine's Day Baking Ideas
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