This pretty Heart Shaped Cake features a homemade red velvet cake topped with a pink cream cheese frosting. It’s a delicious way to show your loved ones how much you care. No special pan required!

Ingredients to Make a Heart Shaped Cake Recipe

Special occasion cakes are so fun to make! No special pan is needed to make this beautiful heart shape that’s ideal for making a valentine’s day cake. My heart-shaped red velvet cake begins with a homemade red velvet cake that’s topped with cream cheese frosting. This technique doesn’t require heart-shaped pan. Once assembled, decorate it with heart shaped candies or festive sprinkles and chill it until serving. Ingredients to make a Heart Shaped Cake: (Scroll down for full printable recipe card.)

Flour: All purpose flour forms the base of the cake flour.
Cocoa: Unsweetened cocoa powder for a hint of chocolate.
Leavening: Baking soda, baking powder and salt to give rise to the cake.
Sugar: White sugar for sweetness.
Liquid: Buttermilk for a creamy batter.
Oil: Vegetable oil results in a red moist batter.
Food Coloring: Two tablespoons liquid red food coloring for the cake batter. Use gel coloring for the frosting.
White Vinegar: Vinegar is classic in red velvet cake. It gives the cake a tender crumb.
Eggs: Two large eggs add richness to the cake batter.
Flavoring: One teaspoon vanilla extract.
Cream Cheese Frosting: Two 8 ounce blocks of plain cream cheese, salted butter, vanilla extract and powdered sugar. (Confectioners’ Sugar)

How to Make the BEST Heart Shaped Cake Recipe

Make the Red Velvet Cake – Spritz a square 8×8-inch baking pan and an 8-inch round cake pan with baking spray or butter and flour.
Dry Ingredients – Use a whisk to sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
Wet Ingredients – In a separate bowl whisk together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and eggs until fully combined.
Combine – Using an electric mixer on medium speed gradually add the wet ingredients to the sifted dry ingredients beating just until combined.
Transfer Cake Batter to Prepared Pans – Divide the cake batter mixture evenly between the prepared pans.
Oven – Bake in a preheated 350°F per the cook time in the recipe until the cake springs back when gently touched or a toothpick inserted into the center comes back clean.
Cool the Cake – Cool for 20 minutes in the pans then carefully remove from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting – In a medium-size mixing bowl using an electric mixer cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt. Lower the speed of the mixer and gradually add the powdered sugar. Whip until smooth and creamy.
Assemble the Heart Shaped Cake – Once the cakes have cooled use a sharp knife to cut the round cake into two equal halves to create two half circles.
Arrange on Platter or Cake Stand – On a large serving plate or cake stand, place the square cake offset in the center with one corner pointing down to form the bottom of the heart.
Frost – Use a small amount of cream cheese frosting to attach the two halves to the top of the square cake to create the top of the heart shape. Frost the top and sides of the cake.
Decorate – Smooth and decorate the top of the cake with the remaining leftover frosting.

Tips for Making a Heart-Shaped Cake

Kitchen Tools You’ll Need: Stand mixer or hand mixer, measuring cups and spoons, large bowl, medium bowl, Square 8×8-inch cake pan, 8-inch round pan, serrated knife, silicone spatula, offset spatula, wire racks and cake pedestal.
Have Fun Decorating: You can have fun decorating the cake your way! If you’d like to pipe the frosting using a piping bag as seen in the images, use a large Wilton 1M open star tip to pipe rosettes around the edge.
Use Colorful Candies and Sprinkles: Have fun and use whatever color of holiday sprinkles or Valentine’s Day candies that suit your fancy to decorate the top.
Don’t Substitute The Liquid Food Coloring: The amount of food coloring is actually part of the liquid in the chocolate cake batter.
Use Gel Food Coloring for the Frosting: I highly recommend using gel food colorings to tint frostings. Dip a toothpick into the gel then swirl it through the frosting and whip. Repeat the process until you reach your desired color intensity. Gel won’t add liquid to the frosting or compromise the texture.
When to Serve Heart Shaped Cake: This cake is perfection for Valentine’s Day, baby showers, birthday parties, anniversaries, wedding showers or any special occasion that you want to delight the special people in your life.

Recipe Variations

Cream Cheese: You can use a lighter Neufchatel cheese in place of full fat cream cheese for the frosting. When doing so, you may need to add additional powdered sugar to stabilize the frosting.
Unsalted Butter: If using unsalted butter for the icing, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to balance the sweet flavor.
Flavorings: You could add other extracts to the cake batter and the frosting. Raspberry extract, strawberry extract or a dash of almond extract.
Frosting: Cream cheese frosting is classic for red velvet cake. That said, you can also frost it with vanilla buttercream or fluffy 7-minute frosting.

Storage and Leftovers

Leftovers: Store this easy Heart Shaped Cake chilled in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer: You can freeze this red velvet cake for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator then slice and enjoy.

More Cake Recipes to Make

Pretty in pink Easy Strawberry Cake.
This Raspberry Layer Cake is a stunner!
Pineapple Upside Down Cake made with fresh pineapple.
Easy Strawberries and Cream Poke Cake.
Cherry Coca Cola Cake is topped with a fudgy frosting.
Homemade Angel Food Cake.
Red Velvet Layer Cake topped with cream cheese frosting.
White Chocolate Truffle Cake from Life Love and Sugar.

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