Valentine’s Day is drawing near! If you’d like to bake your sweetheart a cake but you don’t own a heart-shaped pan, never fear! Here, we show you how to use round and square cake pans to make an espresso-infused heart-shaped chocolate cake. A thick layer of frosting and a garnish of edible flowers provide the finishing touch. If you can’t find any edible, pesticide-free flowers, decorate the cake with sprinkles for a whimsical touch.
The test kitchen cooks tested and retested this cake recipe, along with all the others in their beautiful Favorite Cakes cookbook. Test Kitchen Director Belle English has a few pro tips to make the construction and decoration of this easy cake flawless:
- Trim away any domed portions of the cake before frosting so all sides are flat
- Turn the cut sides down to avoid crumbs
- Slide parchment strips under the edges of the cake before decorating to ensure easy cleanup
- Use an offset spatula to swipe frosting under each section of cake to make it stay put
Set this charming cake on the table this Valentine’s Day and share the love. Each bite is chocolate bliss. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Chocolate Espresso Valentine’s Heart Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- ½ cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) canola oil, plus more for greasing
- 2 ½ cups (12 1/2 oz./390 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 cup (3 oz./90 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 2 cups (1 lb./500 g) sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ cups (12 fl. oz./375 ml) buttermilk
- 1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
- 6 oz. (185 g) semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
- 4 tsp. espresso powder
For the frosting:
- 2 cups (1 lb./500 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups (12 oz./375 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp. kosher salt
- Red food coloring as needed
- Edible flowers or sprinkles, optional
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease an 8-inch (20-cm) round cake pan and an 8-inch (20-cm) square cake pan, line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper, then grease the parchment. Dust with flour, then tap out any excess.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugar, eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla on medium speed until blended, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, slowly add the flour mixture, and beat until incorporated, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the melted chocolate and espresso powder and beat until combined. Raise the speed to high and beat for 30 seconds.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let cool for 10 minutes, then invert the cakes onto the racks and let cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt, raise the speed to medium-high, and beat until combined, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in the red food coloring, 1 drop at a time and stirring after each addition, until the frosting reaches your desired color.
To assemble:
- Cut the round cake in half crosswise. Orient the square cake as a diamond.
- Frost the cut sides of the half rounds with the frosting and place them against the top sides of the diamond to form a heart shape, pressing gently to adhere. Spread the remaining buttercream or frosting over the entire surface of the cake. Decorate as desired with edible flowers or sprinkles and serve.
Video
Equipment
Most home bakers will have on hand the tools they need to make this simple cake. Here’s what we used to make the process flawless from start to finish:
Based on 109 Review(s)
9 comments
That is awesome.
That’s Awesome.
I was looking for something to make on this valentine and it looks ideal for me. So thank you for sharing this recipe with us.
Web.page design oops! Tiny little colored mark by rating stars accidentally creates low rating? So, I added a 5-star trying to balance it out… Hope you can clean the thread
Hmm! Thanks Jean. We’ll look into it. Certainly don’t want low ratings for this great cake!
EXPLANATION ON HOW TO CREATE A HEART SHAPE CAKE, USING ONE SQUARE FROM AND ONE ROUND CAKE FORM IS VERY UNCLEAR. DO NOT UNDERSTAND IT. PLEASE CLARIFY METHOD. THAKS.
Stay tuned, Betty! We will share a video on the method this Monday. In the meantime, try this: Use one 8-inch square cake pan and one 8-inch round cake pan. Once you unmold the cakes, cut the round cake in half. Turn the square cake diagonally on your work surface so one of the points is directed toward you; this will be the bottom point of your heart. Take the two halves of the cake round and place each cut side on the top left and right sides of your square to create the two top rounds of the heart. Hope that makes sense!
Can I use a heart-shaped pan?
Yes! Though we can’t speak to the volume of batter to pan without knowing the size of your heart, nor to any change in baking time. If you’d like to give your pan a try, fill the pan about 2/3 full with cake batter and use the visual cue to know when your cake is done.