A heart shaped cake is a beautiful way to celebrate Valentine's Day, an anniversary, an engagement party, a wedding, or any other occasion that calls for a bit of extra sweetness. Heart cakes are far less common than round, square, or rectangular cakes, but their appearance is more timeless than a character cake or other novelty model.
Heart Shaped Cake Pans
Although it's possible to make a heart cake with a traditional baking dish or round baking pan, it's easiest to make one with a shaped pan. Wilton is the most famous manufacturing company for cake supplies and decorating equipment, so they offer the most options, but plenty of other bakeware companies also have heart models.
- The mini heart cake pan from Wilton is perfect for small cakes, tarts, or cupcakes.
- The Decorator Preferred pan is a more conventional cake pan, but it comes in several sizes, so you can make a tiered cake.
- Shaped similarly to the sweetheart pan, the silicone heart pan is made of softer material.
- Want a more 3-D look to your cake? Use the Dimensions Crowned Heart pan, which has decorative details at the top to make your cake stand out.
- Although it's not sold directly through Wilton, Amazon has a four-pan set in stock that features different sizes of heart pans.
- Make a giant heart cookie or very shallow cake with this heart shaped cookie pan from Wilton.
No Pan? No Problem!
If you want to make a heart shaped cake but don't seem to have a fitting pan and don't want to shell out for one, you can still make the cake.
Heart Cakes from Square or Rectangular Pans
- Bake the cake as usual, and let it cool completely.
- Wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap, and pop it in the freezer for 20 to 40 minutes to let it firm up.
- Remove the cake, and unwrap it. Set the cake on a cutting board or counter.
- Using a sharp, serrated knife, make a very shallow outline of a heart shape within the cake. When the outline is shaped the way you desire, cut into the cake. Reserve the unused sides for cake balls, rich bread pudding, or another dessert.
- Brush the cake free of crumbs. Then frost and decorate it as you normally would.
Heart Cakes from Round Pans
- Follow instructions 1-3 above. Complete the first part of the fourth instruction also, making a heart outline on the cake, but use the round edges of the cake to form the upper two curves of the heart. You'll end up using more of the cake and discarding less.
- Brush the cake free of crumbs, and frost and decorate as normal.
How to Decorate Heart Cakes
There are few sweeter or more romantic desserts than a heart cake, simply frosted with a thin layer of red, white, or pink buttercream. The presentation doesn't have to be fancy, but if you want to do a little something extra, consider the below ideas.
- Cover the cake with rolled fondant, and cover the fondant with small hearts.
- Imprint ornate designs into the cake with stencils.
- Place chocolate truffles in a heart shape on top of the cake.
- Swirl sweetened flaked coconut, powdered sugar, cinnamon, cocoa powder, sprinkles, or textured raw sugar over the cake.
- Make a custom topper with fondant or other materials.
- Stack a few heart cakes together to form a very tall, elegant dessert.
- Serve with rose petals or a red rose as a beautiful visual accompaniment.
More Ideas
If you're preparing a heart cake for someone special, turn it into something special. Serve the cake on a table sprinkled with Hershey's kisses or truffles and adorned with fresh flowers. Another idea is to leave the cake at the end of an elaborate treasure hunt or reveal it at the end of a romantic dinner for two. Have fun with your serving method and decorations, and it's a virtual guarantee that the recipient will love what you created.
