Here’s how to make a heart cake using pans you  already have. Easy! The finished cake can be as simple or as elaborate as you like.

This simple cake trick creates a heart cake as a base for frosting or decorating to your heart’s desire. Even as a food blogger, there comes a moment where you just don’t want to add another short-season pan to your already-full cabinet. I met this moment when I thought I would need to do some architect-level drawing and cutting on my cakes to get to a good-looking heart shape.

It hit me as I played that this could be very, very simple, with one cut across a round cake, then arrange. I told my niece Victoria, a baker extraordinaire, that I have a heart cake trick to show her and you know what she said? Turn a square on the diamond, cut a round in half and line the halves up at the top edges of the square. That stinker already knew! No wonder she’s going to be an excellent architect.

What you’ll need

1 8-inch round cake pan.

1 8-inch square cake pan.

1 recipe chocolate cake or any standard cake mix, any flavor. Note that if you would like to make a layer cake as your heart cake, you will use two cake mixes (and two of each size pans).

1 recipe raspberry buttercream, cream cheese frosting, or 3 cups of your favorite buttercream.

Baking spray or butter, to coat to pans.

Flour, 1 tablespoon to coat the pans.

How to make a heart cake

What I love most about this method for shaping a heart cake is that you likely already have the pans on hand. And if you don’t, these are basics you’ll be happy to have on hand all year long. Here are easy step-by-step instructions to make your heart cake.

Step 1: Make the cake batter with a standard cake mix or my double chocolate cake recipe. Make the buttercream.

Step 2: Spray or coat the 8″ square cake pan and the 8″ round cake pan with baking spray or butter. Then dust the pans with a tablespoon of flour and knock out any excess. Divide the cake batter evenly between the pans, bake, and cool for 10 minutes before removing the cakes from their pans onto waxed paper. Cool them completely.

Step 3: Set the square cake on the diagonal on a serving platter that is at least 14 inches square, so the heart cake will fit. Use platter, a cake board, or overturned sheet pan covered in foil.

Step 4: Use a large serrated knife to cut the 8-inch round in half. These halves will make the top of the heart.

Step 5: Set one half of the round against the top left side of the square cake that is already on the board, and then the second half against the top right side of the cake.

Step 6: Frost the cake with the buttercream.

Make-ahead instructions

You can also make a completed frosted heart cake in advance. Simply frost the cake, freeze it, then wrap it in plastic if freezing for more than a couple of days. To thaw, bring the cake to room temperature (at room temperature and not in the refrigerator) the day you are ready to serve it.

Variations

This heart cake recipe can easily expand for a larger cake. You can use a 9-inch square and 9-inch round pan, or 10-inch pans. Just be sure you make double the amount of cake batter so you don’t end up with a thin layer of cake. You’ll also need a larger platter that will hold the larger heart cake.

Make a layer cake! To make a filled layer cake for the heart cake, double the cake recipe and bake two 8-inch round and two 8-inch square cakes. Use the steps to create one of the heart shaped layers. Fill or frost the first layer (a piping bag is helpful!), then build a second heart on top of the cake.

To ensure the cake layers are even, it is helpful to freeze or chill until the filling on the first heart cake layer is firm before building the second layer on top of it.

Use my raspberry buttercream recipe to frost the cake with lovely heart-themed pink frosting (that tastes incredible!). The buttercream gets its hue from freeze-dried raspberries. Or you can my cream cheese frosting and add pink food coloring. Both are simple American-style buttercream that use butter and powdered sugar.

Decorate the cake artfully following my Valentine’s Day Cake recipe.

Storage

The easiest way to prepare a heart shaped cake ahead of time is to bake the two cakes and cool to room temperature. Leave them as a square and a round cake, wrap them well in plastic wrap and freeze them (the plastic wrap serves as an airtight container). It’s easier to wait to cut the cake into a heart because it requires a large serving platter or board that may not be easy to fit into your freezer.

The completed, frosted cake can sit on the counter after baking for up to one day. If the cake is not frosted, it must be tightly covered with plastic or else it will dry out.