The Easiest Heart Shape Cake Hack
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A heart shape cake is a lovely idea for a Valentine's Day dessert or treat! This hack shows how to make an easy heart cake without a mold!
This post was originally published on Jan 28, 2023 and updated with new photos Jan 12, 2025.
Valentine's Day is a special occasion to show love and appreciation to our loved ones. What better way to do that than by baking a homemade cake with the help of your kids!
Making a heart-shaped cake is a fun and easy way to spend quality time with your children while also creating a delicious treat that everyone will love.
Today, my 5-year-old @DashBakesTheGreats and I are back to show you how to make the easiest heart-shaped cake for Valentine's day!
You don't need a special heart pan you'll only use once or twice a year for this cake hack! All you need is two cake pans to create a heart shape!
How do you make a heart cake?
You'll need one square and one circle cake pan, they can be glass or aluminum, teflon, silicone, tin or any other bake-safe material but they do need to be the same size. For example an 8 inch square pan and an 8 inch circle pan which is what we used.
You'll also need your favorite cake mix. Our go-to is chocolate since Valentine's day is all about chocolates. And your favorite frosting and sprinkles. We used strawberry ready-made frosting and heart sprinkles to complete the Valentine theme.
Do I have to use a cake mix?
Of course not! You can use your favorite homemade recipe and make any flavor you like. Red Velvet would be an amazing flavor for Valentine's day as well. You can also make your own frosting. Here is an easy homemade buttercream recipe we love using on sugar cookies.
Heart Shape Cake - Ingredients
One box cake mix of your choice (we used chocolate)
One tube of pink strawberry ready-made frosting (you can use white and tint your own using pink gel food coloring)
Valentine or Heart sprinkles
One 8" square cake pan and one circle cake pan (you may use 9" but the cake will be thinner and wider and require less baking time)
What other decorations can you add to your heart cake?
There are many things that can be added to a heart shape cake to make it more visually appealing and delicious. Some ideas include:
-Decorations such as cut-out fondant, or chocolate. Roll out fondants in heart shapes or add chocolate hearts on top.
-Edible or dried flowers to add a delicate and floral touch.
-Berries, such as raspberries or strawberries which go well with chocoalte.
-Candies or chocolates, like Valentine M&Ms or chocolate chips.
-Sprinkles or other edible royal frosting decorations
-A message written in frosting or chocolate.
You can also add some flavors to the cake, on top such as fruit puree (strawberries, raspberries, etc) Or add liqueurs of fruit extracts (raspberry, strawberry, etc).
The cake embellishments really depend on what you or the person you're making the cake for likes. You can be creative and add whatever you think will taste good and look pretty!
Of course, if the kids are involved, it would be fun to let their imaginations go wild. Add several decorations in a muffin tray so they can pick and choose their favorite edible toppings.
Check out Dash’s baking Instagram @DashBakesTheGreats for more kids baking ideas and inspiration. Check out all his recipes here.
Here is Dash's version! 🙂 Such a cute cake to make with kids!
Easiest Heart Shape Cake
Ingredients
Method
- Make the cake mix as instructed and then equally pour into your circle and square cake pans.
- Add in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until the tops spring back lightly when touched.
- Allow cakes to cool for 10 minutes then remove from the pans and let cool for antoher 30 minutes.
- Freeze for another 30 minutes (this helps the cake not be so crumbly when frosting. (optional)
- Cut the circle in half and place on top of the square cake positioned like a dimaond to make a heart.
- Frost the cake entirely covering the heart sahpe.
- Add heart sprinkles on the borders.
Video
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
Agnes Hsu is a mom of three and has been inspiring parents and kids to get creative with easy activities and family friendly recipes for over 10 years. She shares her love for creative play and kids food to her 2MM+ followers online. Agnes' commitment to playful learning and kindness has not only raised funds for charity but also earned features in prestigious nationwide publications.
