Heart Cake Tutorial

Finally!!  Is that what you are thinking?  Its ok.  You can admit it.  We are all friends here. 

Do you remember this little thing?

 

Well it turns out some of you daring bakers want to make this yourselves.  Yeah you!  I cant wait to see and read all about it... send me links girls! (and boys... if there are any boys)

Well. In order for me to do a tutorial I had to make another one.  So, forgive the less then stellar decorations, but here is our 'tutorial' heart cake.

 

But you didnt come to see the outside right? 

Here goes.

Start out by making four eight inch pans of white cake.  (If you want the actual recipe, just click here)

Make one 9x13 (you can do whatever shape and size you want) pan of red velvet cake. (recipe here)

First I need to level each cake.

I use this handy dandy leveling cake thingy I got at Walmart for a few bucks. 

Remember to do this for all four white cakes.

Add about 1/2 cup to 1 cup frosting and then put one layer on top.  You want two separate two layer cakes at this point.

For the red velvet cake I just ran my fork through it to break it up.  Then I added about a cup of frosting and combined well.

NOW!  I usually like to freeze the cakes for at least a couple hours.  If you cant freeze them, at least try and pop them in the fridge for a bit!

I know this looks pretty weird (maybe cause it is) but this is what I am going to use to make sure I have some uniformity in the heart design.  Its just two toothpicks and a piece of twine.

Place one toothpick in the center of the cake, then (holding firmly) drag the outside toothpick around the cake and make a circle.

Like this!  Now I have a rough guide line of where I am going to being carving.  Do this to both cakes. (or, if you are a good drawer, just take a knife and cut a shallow line around the perimeter.)

Carve out a V shape in the cake.

The top half of the heart is a little trickier.  This time, I started with my knife in the center of the cake and created this little island. 

I then moved back out to my "guide line" and started cutting.  I ended up creating this channel.  Once this has been created, you can go back in a do some more carving to create more detail.

Here is after I went in with a spoon and carved out a bit more.

 The two cakes carved out.  The hard part is pretty much done now!

Now I can start filling in the cakes with the red velvet cake.

All filled! At this point I put it in my freezer for about 15 minutes.  Just to let them set.

I added some frosting the the edge of the bottom cake.  Make sure you know which is which!  You are going to want to add the cake with the hallowed out 'channel' to the top of the V cake.

Here goes nothin!  I have found the easiest way to do this is to just use your hand.  Place it flat over the top of the 'channel' cake and flip it over.  Then gently place it one the bottom cake.

Add some more frosting and do a rough crumb coat over the whole cake.

And here is our thin layer of icing for the crumb coat.  Put this in the fridge about at least a half hour, or as long as overnight.

Now.  Go eat an apple.  Seriously.  Cause if you are anything like me you have been snacking on the cake scraps this whole time and you need a healthy energy boost.

There.  Feel better?  Lets get back to work.

I ended up using all my red velvet cake so I didnt have any left over for decoration.  So white it is!

Ready to see what all this work was for?

I thought it turned out pretty good!  Granted, this is my third time making it in a month so I had better be able to at least make it presentable by now. :)

 

And it tastes as good as it looks!  (I might be biased)

So I hope you are brave enough to try a heart cake for your loved one this Valentines Day.  Be sure to let me know how it works out.. and take lots and lots of pictures! :)

Recipes:

Red Velvet Cake

For the red velvet cake I messed around with a recipe from Magnolia Bakery.

*This is how I modified this recipe:  I used 2 sticks of butter, 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks, 2 tablespoons of food color, and apple cider vinegar.  I wanted a more dense cake because I knew I was using it in the center of the heart cake and I needed to make sure it was sturdy enough.

3 1/3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons red food coloring
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and lightly flour three 9 x 2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper.

To make the cake:
In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overheat.

In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pans for 1 hour. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

*****

*I used only all-purpose flour and then added 1 tsp baking powder. I am going to play around with this a bit more next time and maybe even add some baking soda. I found this recipe on Food Network.

White Cake

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into cake pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (for round cake), or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

*****

And I am loving Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream frosting.

*My only modification to the recipe is I like to add a little almond extract, and it seems that 1 tsp. is the perfect amount!  And be sure to use CLEAR vanilla extract to get a white frosting.

Makes enough for one 2-layer 9-inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes*

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

• 6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar

• 1/2 cup milk

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Comments

[Viv @ The Eclectic Life]

Now this tutorial is seriously unbelievable. You are BRILLIANT and this is awesome. Not meaning to be redundant, but I heart this cake.

[Erin]

Wow, this is incredible! Thanks for the how to.

[april]

ah!!! a surprise heart!!! i'm gonna make it!!!

[Shannon Fox]

My friend and I made this cake last week for another friend's bridal shower. It wasn't nearly as pretty as yours, but it sure was a hit! =) Thanks for the detailed instructions....they were great!

[Erin]

This is so beautiful, love it!

[winda]

cool....
so inspiratif...
love this one....^_^

[Bursaria]

What a beautiful cake!

[Amy Balling]

I made your heart cake for my aunt's 91st birthday...and I've blogged about it here: http://ballinwithballing.blogspot.com/2011/03/heart-cake.html
It's one of my first postings! Thanks for all the help!

[Account Deleted]

Hi Amanda!
I luv your cakes!=}
Perfect!!
Kisses! Vinni (SP/Brasil:)

[evaporated milk]

Really amazing efforts. The use of tooth pick is an outstanding idea. By seeing this I can surely say, cooking is an real art.

[Kim Crowder]

I love this tutorial - I actually made a Christmas Tree cake using this technique. Thank you so much

[Kristine]

i was wondering if you could use simple syrup in place of the frosting to gel the red velvet crumbs together? no special reason. i just wonder what would be best?

[floredy]

Oh My God!!! I know you might have read this a million times but Oh My God!!! This is an amazing cake with amazing techniques!!!! YOU ARE MY NEW FAV BAKER!!!

[AbberJabber]

Wow, this is a time-consuming cake! It was definitely a challenge! Next time I'm going to split it into two or three days instead of one. But it was so fun to cut into and see how it turned out. Here's my result:

http://crafteroonie.blogspot.com/2011/02/heart-cake.html

[erin]

WOW!!! this looks out of this world AMAZING!! not sure if i'll ever try it.

[Hanna]

Awesome! Love it :)

[fiona]

Truly amazing and your generosity astounds me. Thank you for sharing such a lovely idea.Fiona

[Mbt walking shoes]

This is a very good blog. I appreciate very much this text, thank you.

[Janet Yaceczko]

http://foodandmoneyblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/heart-cake-guest-baker.html - My friend Sara Guest Baked on my Blog and she made your cake quite lovingly. :)

[Lauren]

This tutorial is amazing! I made this cake and I did all the carving at 5am, so I ended up not snacking on all the cake crumbs! Thanks for all the detailed pictures!

[Arletta Locascio]

Great cake!! My neice made this for her mother. I was amazed and looked the receipe up. My question is how the cake was so white when the whole egg had been added.

[Buttercupbakeshoppe.wordpress.com]

What a fantastic idea! love it!!

[Cuttertrpld]

Very Clever!

[Rjnsunshine]

would the heart shape come out just as well if i used pink butter cream instead of the red velvet cake???

[Bakers Quest]

I was wondering if you knew what else you could use as the heart filling???

[sonia dorta]

traduza para o portugues.Obrigada

[Oriental Beauty]

I love your cake!!

[Melissa]

Love this! And all your amazing cakes. I just used this tutorial and modified it very slightly to make a raindrop cake for my Little Raindrops site. I couldn't have done it without you! Thanks for the tutorial! { http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2011/06/26/little-raindrops-surprise-cake-10-year-blogiversary/ }

[Kristen @ Popcorn on the Stove]

This is absolutely adorable! I love it and want to try it immediately!

[Fullestoflife]

I love your website! Cakes are just amazing and inspiring! Thankyou!

I have just started up a foodie blog, and check it out as i have posted a recipe inspired by this tutorial:
http://iammommy.typepad.com/i_am_baker/2010/02/heart-cake-tutorial.html

[www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawnJEHVxVcwD2FYytq4XYb9-xGaNGCA9Lwg]

Thanks a lot for this wonderful recipe/tutorial!
I did it for my girlfriends birthday and she was so pleased about it. I only had a few problems with the measures 'cause i'm from Germany and we do not have the US/GB 'Cup'. I miscalculated the cocoa, so the heart became brown - but actually it looks good, anyway. So thanks a lot and greetings from Germany!
http://jean-nosh.tumblr.com/post/7727783730/my-heart-cake-recipes-and-tutorial-by-i-am

[Kelly]

Sooooooo cute!
I love it, and will try soon, of course...

[rashmina]

wow thats so superb but 8 ucps onfectioners sugar for butter cream?wont it be too much sweet?

[hellams]

Its really amazing honey...you made a heart is side the cake and it take my heart away .

[melissa]

I love this CAKE!

[True Religion Outlet]

The only other thing this moment I feel definite about is that the stories we tell ourselves and share with ourselves are changing, radasdfically. I've been hesitant to dive in publicly, because sometimes - well, ofttimes, pioneers are ignored. Their travels can easily become travails.

[Emberella Cat]

I was inspired by your heart cake, but wasn't sure I could do it (although I really want to for a friend's birthday that is coming up). So I made heart cupcakes, so there would be lots of heart-making practice. That was a lot of hard work! but I'm kinda pleased with how they turned out :)
I posted pictures here: http://countyourblessingsinsteadofsheep.blogspot.com/2011/09/heart-cupcakes.html

[Eftychia]

This cake is trully beautiful! Thanks for the tutorial!

[Jacqueline]

Ok, I have spent forever on your blog trying to figure out the ghost cake. Is this how you did it? This is fabulous! Very creative!

[Marisa]

I've been wanting to bake this cake for a long time but never actually dared to do so. This week-end I finally was couragous enough to carve into my cake and put a heart into it thanks to you!! I didn't use the same recipe though. Since I live in Switzerland, it's sometimes rather difficult to find exactly the same ingredients as in the US. So I baked one of my very yummy and very simple white cakes for the main layout. And then I've filled the heart with this same cake but mashed with cocoa powder and icing. This was veeery good. I still have to work on my icing (it was not creamy at all).

Anyway, thank you so much for the idea and the tutorial!! I would never have thought to put a heart in a cake on my own!! I love your blog you have wonderful ideas =)

Here is the link with the pictures of my heart cake, if ever you have the time to check them out. Of course I've put 2 links to your blog and I refer to your tutorial all the time. Sorry the article is in french. http://meandmyfood101.blogspot.com/2011/10/heart-cake.html