In this tutorial on how to make a Buttercream Heart Cake, we create this beautiful cake design that requires no heart shaped cake pan and can be made in two different sizes. It is perfect for Valentine’s Day!
This Buttercream Heart Cake is a simple way to make a beautiful and eye-catching dessert for any love inspired occasion. By piecing together a square cake and two halves of a round cake, we can make the shape of a heart! Then using a few different piping tips, we create an interesting textured design on top. Feel free to just frost the cake with a knife or spatula if you prefer! To make a large heart cake, you will use an 8×8 inch square pan and an 8 inch round cake pan. To make a smaller heart cake, like I did here, you will use an 8×8 inch square pan and a 6 inch round cake pan.
What you will need
Cake – I used a boxed cake mix that I had in the back of my cupboard which provided enough cake batter for a small heart cake. However, you can use any cake recipe that you’d like, just make sure it is going to yield enough batter to fill the size of cake pans you are using. My Classic Vanilla Layer Cake would work great for the small or large size of this cake.
Frosting – Any type would work! I used my Perfect Vanilla Buttercream.
8×8 inch Square pan – This forms the bottom of the heart.
8 inch or 6 inch round cake pan – If you want a large heart cake then use an 8 inch round pan. If you want a smaller heart cake then use the 6 inch round pan.
Piping tips – You can use any assortment of piping tips! A combination of large and small tips is best. I used 2D, 4B, 199 and 21.
Piping Bags and couplers – I like using these Wilton piping bags or these reusable piping bags. For the smaller piping tips you will also need couplers.
Food colouring – My favourite brands are the Wilton Colour Right System, Americolor and Chefmaster. I would say use as many colours as different piping tips you are going to use. I chose four colours.
These are the colours I used with each piping tip:
Tip 199 – Chefmaster Navy Blue and Wilton Colour Right Black
Cake board or plate – You can frost your cake on a cake board, plate or cake stand. Whatever you like!
How to Make A Buttercream Heart Cake
First of all, prepare your cake batter and frosting according to the recipe you are following.
Next, bake your cakes! You will need a square cake and a round cake. Bake one cake in the 8×8 inch square pan and the other in either the 6 inch OR 8 inch round pan. Be sure to grease the pans well!
*The square pan will require about 3 cups of batter. The 8 inch round pan will also require 3 cups of batter. The 6 inch round cake pan will require 2 cups of batter.
Once the cakes are baked and cooled, level them so that they are equal height. I like using a cake leveller for this, but you could also use a serrated knife. If you made a 6 inch round cake and want a smaller heart, trim the square cake down to 6×6 inches.
Next, cut the round cake in half.
The, spread a small amount of frosting on the cake plate or board you are going to use. This will hold the cake in place.
Place the square cake on your cake plate so that it looks like a diamond. Using an offset spatula or knife, spread some of the frosting on the top right and left edges of the cake.
Lastly, place one half of the round cake on either side of the edges that you just frosted. Press them in a little bit so they stick to the frosting. Now you have a heart cake!
How to decorate a Buttercream Heart Cake
Mix your frosting colours and prepare your piping bags.
Start with your biggest piping tip and pipe swirls evenly spaced out on the cake. I started with 2D rosettes.
Next, go in with your second biggest piping tip. For me, this was the 4B. Pipe a few swirls evenly across the heart.
Using your 3rd biggest piping tip, pipe more swirls trying to fill in any big gaps. I used tip 199 here.
Once most of the cake is covered with bigger swirls, you want to start filling in the little spaces with smaller piped designs. These could be drop flowers, stars or even just little polka dots. For my smaller designs I used the 2D tip for drop flowers and the 4B, 199 and 21 tips for stars.
If you trimmed your 8×8 inch square cake into a 6×6 inch, you might want to pipe along the sides of the cake as well to give it a more finished look.
Add any finishing touches you might want! I sprayed some edible silver glitter on my heart cake. You could also top it with sprinkles!
Here is a full video from start to finish! You can also find this under the IGTV tab on my Instagram.
There you have it! A beautiful Buttercream Heart Cake. If you try this tutorial, I would love to see what you make! Tag me on Instagram at @cremedelacombe.
If you are looking for other ideas or recipes for Valentine’s Day, be sure to check out:
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