Heart-shaped cakes don't have to be just for Valentine's Day celebrations. Let's learn to make heart-shaped cakes for individual and corporate birthdays and other types of events! Make a cookie dough – this article includes a chocolate cake recipe, but you can use any other cake recipe you like – bake in special molds or regular molds, then cut them into a heart shape. After that give a special touch with whipped cream and other types of decoration.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- One tsp butter to line the pan
- One tablespoon flour to line the pan
- Cooking oil spray, can be used to line the baking sheet
- 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup low-calorie curd
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 3 tablespoons of oil
- 1 tsp real vanilla extract
- Frosting (smooth cream made from butter or sugar and usually used to decorate cakes)
- Food coloring (red, blue, etc.)
Step
Method 1 of 3: Make a Heart Shaped Cake Using a Mold
Step 1. Preheat the oven
Raise the temperature in the oven to 177 degrees Celsius.
Step 2. Prepare a heart-shaped baking sheet/mold
Line an 8 or 9 inch (about 20 or 23 cm) mold or baking sheet by applying a teaspoon of butter to the bottom and sides. Pour in a tablespoon of flour and gently tilt the pan, so that the flour that has accumulated in one area slides across the bottom of the pan and covers the surface. Shake and straighten the mold to collect any excess flour (that is, any remaining flour that doesn't stick to the surface), then remove it.
If you don't want to coat the pan or mold with flour and butter, you can use cooking oil spray instead
Step 3. Stir the ingredients to make the cake, starting with the dry ones
Pour cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl.
Step 4. Then add the liquid ingredients
Place eggs, curd, water, oil and vanilla in a bowl. Stir on medium speed until the texture is completely smooth, which is about three minutes.
There should be no more lumps of flour in the dough
Step 5. Pour the batter into the molds or pans
Make sure each part of the pan is evenly filled.
Step 6. Bake for 35 minutes
Pierce the center of the cake with a toothpick or cake tester (a cake tester consisting of a metal rod the size of a chopstick and a plastic handle at the end) to check for doneness. When the cake is done, there will be no dough sticking to the toothpick or tester when you remove it.
If there is still some dough sticking to it, bake for a few more minutes, then check the cake again. Repeat this step until the toothpick or tester looks clean when removed from the cake
Step 7. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool
Let the cake sit in the pan or mold for 15 minutes. To remove the cake from the pan, turn the pan over on a cooling rack so that the cake falls onto it and let it sit there until it cools completely.
Step 8. Beautify the cake with frosting and other types of cake decorations
You can decorate cakes straight from the pan. You can also remove the cake from the pan or mold to make a double layer cake. To do this, place the first layer on a plate with the flat side facing up. Apply frosting all over the top layer of the layer, then add a second layer on top. Then again cover the top of the cake and the sides with frosting.
Method 2 of 3: Make a Heart Shaped Cake without Using a Mold
Step 1. Preheat the oven
Raise the temperature to 177 degrees Celsius.
Step 2. Prepare a baking sheet or mould
Line a baking sheet or square and round molds (8 inches each) by spreading a teaspoon of butter all over the inner surface of both pans. Also add a tablespoon of flour to it, then tilt the mold slowly, so that the flour that had accumulated in one place spreads over the entire surface of the bottom of the pan. Shake again to collect any loose flour, then remove.
If you don't want to coat the pan with butter and flour, you can use cooking oil spray
Step 3. Stir the ingredients to make the cake, starting with the dry ones
Pour cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl.
Step 4. Then add the liquid ingredients
Add eggs, curd, water, oil and vanilla to a bowl. Knead on medium speed for about 3 minutes until it forms a really smooth dough.
You will not find any more lumps of flour in the dough
Step 5. Pour the batter into the molds or pans
Make sure the dough is evenly distributed in the pan.
Step 6. Bake for 35 minutes
Pierce the center of the cake with a toothpick or cake tester to check for doneness. The cake is ready if the toothpick or tester is clean when you remove it.
If the dough is still stuck to the toothpick or tester, return the cake to the oven, bake for a few more minutes and then check for doneness. Repeat this step until the toothpick or tester is completely clean when removed from the cake
Step 7. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool
Let the cake sit in the pan or mold for 15 minutes. After that, transfer the cake to a cooling rack by turning the pan over so that the cake falls onto the rack, and let it cool completely so that it can be cut and decorated.
Step 8. Cut the cake
Remove the cake from both molds. Using a sharp knife, cut the round cake in half. Both halves must have one side that is flat and the other that is curved.
Step 9. Start the 'heart' shape
Rotate the square cake until it reaches a certain angle so that one corner of the cake is facing you, then cut the cake from that end to the opposite end to form two triangles. Take the round cake that has been cut earlier and place the two halves on top of the two triangles so that the flat side of the triangle meets the flat side of the round cake slice. This will form a heart.
Step 10. Cover the cake with frosting, then add the frosting
Cover the top of the cake and the sides with frosting. This will help maintain the shape of the cake and make each piece look uniform with the same color of frosting.
Method 3 of 3: Cake Decorating
Step 1. Add icing (the icing that is usually used as decoration, can be colored or not) on the cake
After coating the cake with frosting, fill a special cake decorating pipe with icing and use it to add a pattern or writing to the cake.
To change the color, add some food coloring to the icing and mix until smooth. You can add a few more drops if you want a darker color
Step 2. Make a heart pattern on the surface of the cake
Use your hands or a stencil to form a heart on the top of the cake with the chocolate grains, nonpareil (colored grains made from a mixture of sugar and starch), or meises.
You can also use a heart-shaped cookie cutter
Step 3. Add flowers
Flowers can be carved onto the cake using frosting, but you can also add real flowers for a natural look.
Step 4. Decorate the cake with ribbon
Find a piece of satin ribbon and tape it around the bottom of the cake. This will give a neat and ready-to-serve look, especially for special occasions. Be sure to remove the ribbon first before cutting the cake.
Step 5. Beautify the cake with fruits
The berries give a variety of colors to the cake and also add to the sweetness. Place the fruit whole or in pieces on the cake in a specific pattern.
Step 6. Design a pattern using a stencil
Take a piece of parchment paper and cut it into a heart. Place the paper strips on top of the cake and sprinkle sugar or cocoa powder over and around the paper. After that lift it so that the shape of the heart is visible.
