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Fall in love with this heart shaped strawberry cake! This strawberry heart cake is made with two layers of strawberry cake and frosted in strawberry cream cheese frosting! A cake perfect for any celebration!
If you’re looking for a cake to make for a special celebration like Valentine’s Day, an anniversary or even a birthday, this heart shaped strawberry cake is for you!
Made with my doctored strawberry box cake recipe and frosted in a super delicious strawberry cream cheese, whomever you make this cake for will love you endlessly!
I will take you step by step to help you make a beautiful and delicious heart shaped strawberry cake! Let’s get into it!
Why You’ll Love This Heart Shaped Cake
No Heart Pan? No Worries! You don’t need a heart shaped pan to make a heart shaped cake. You can use an 8-inch round pan or larger to get the heart shape you desire!
Easy Cake Recipe. I make this heart cake with my go-to doctored strawberry cake mix recipe! With minimal preparation and time, you just throw all the ingredients together, mix and bake!
Tender & Moist Cake Layers. These cake layers are made with buttermilk, resulting in the most soft and tender cake!
Strawberry Cream Cheese. This heart cake is frosted in a velvety smooth strawberry cream cheese. The perfect flavor for this strawberry cake!
Key Ingredients For This Heart Shaped Strawberry Cake
Be sure to review the recipe card for full measurements and ingredients.
Box Mix – For this heart shaped cake recipe, we use my doctored box mix. You can use your favorite brand of strawberry cake mix.
Strawberry Jello – Dissolve the jello in some water first, this will help the cake come out less dense. The jello really enhances the flavor and gives a nice bright pink color!
Strawberry Puree – Pureed strawberries will give the cake a great texture and that iconic strawberry flavor!
Strawberry Extract or Emulsion – Get your hands on some strawberry extract or emulsion, the more strawberry flavor to this cake the better!
Buttermilk – The acidity of buttermilk provides extra moisture and results in a tender cake. You can also use whole milk instead.
Butter – We will need melted unsalted butter for this cake, which adds tenderness and a nice depth of flavor. For the frosting, use soft room temperature butter.
Cream Cheese – For the homemade frosting, make sure to get a full fat cream cheese for the best flavor.
Tools You’ll Need
Here are all the tools you may need for this cake. It’s not mandatory to have all these things, but it is helpful. Feel free to improvise and use what you have!
8” round cake pan or heart cake pan
Alphabet Stamps (optional)
Pink Food Coloring (optional)
How To Make A Strawberry Heart Cake
Step 1: Bake the Strawberry Cake Layers
Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare your cake tins by greasing and lining them with parchment paper.
Make the strawberry cake layers using this recipe (or your favorite). Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Allow the cake pans to cool for 5 minutes, then flip them out of the pans and wrap them in saran wrap. Place them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. If you’re making them ahead of time remove them from the freezer 20 minutes before you’re ready to assemble.
Step 2: Make the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
I love to pair my strawberry cake with a strawberry cream cheese frosting. But you can play around with the flavors and go for a chocolate buttercream or a lemon buttercream. The possibilities are endless.
NOTE: If you use strawberry cream cheese frosting, make sure to leave the frosted cake in the fridge until you are ready to serve. Cream cheese is much softer and does not crust like traditional buttercream. Also, this frosting has fresh fruit in it, so if you don’t want to see specks of strawberry in your overall cake design then you can make plain cream cheese frosting.
How to make a heart-shaped cake without a heart shaped pan
Step 3: Trim Your Cake Layers
(Skip if you have a heart shaped pan)
To make a heart shape cake without a heart shaped pan, place one cake layer on a cake board and using a serrated knife, cut two diagonal lines to form the base of the heart. I like to eyeball this but feel free to use a ruler. Repeat this step with your second cake layer, using the first layer as a guide. You should have a total of 4 cake trimmings (semi-circles)
Add a little buttercream onto your cake board and set your first layer on top, this will act as a “glue” and keep your cake in place.
Using buttercream, adhere 2 of the cake trimmings against the top of the cake to form the top of the heart. Fill the top of the first layer with an even layer of frosting. Then place your second layer on top and adhere the other 2 cake trimmings, just as before.
Crumb coat the entire cake in a thin layer of frosting with an offset spatula and use a bench scraper to smooth it all out. Then place the cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the frosting to set, it should be firm to the touch.
Add a thicker second layer of frosting on the cake, smoothing with a bench scraper. Put it back in the fridge for 30 more minutes to set.
Heart Shaped Cake Decoration
Step 4: Decorate the Cake
How you decorate the cake is totally up to you, so have fun with it! For the cake pictured below, I used 3 different shades of pink, plus a green for the finishing details.
Add your different colors of buttercream to its own piping bag fitted with your desired piping tips. Tie off the ends of the piping bags.
For the ruffle border, take the light shade of pink and pipe a ruffle around the top edge of the cake, letting the ruffle hang slightly off the edge.
Then, take the darker shade of pink (hot pink) and pipe a large shell border on top of the ruffle, around the top edge of the cake.
Next, using the light pink, pipe a smaller shell border, just above the darker pink on the top and bottom of the cake.
Lastly, take your deeper shade of pink and using a small open star tip, pipe small rosettes in singles, doubles and clusters around the sides of the cake. You can leave them as is or finish them off by adding green leaves.
Use a small rose tip and make small roses, where the strings meet, using the dark pink and then pipe small leaves off the roses.
Finish the cake with some sprinkles and a cute message. You can either handpipe the message or use these cute alphabet stamps like the one pictured.
Tips for Making the Best Heart Shaped Strawberry Cake
Chill the Cake Layers. When your cake is out of the oven, wrap them in plastic wrap while they are still warm and then freeze. This will trap in all the moisture and make it easier to work with when time to assemble.
Make sure the frosting is the right consistency. It is extremely important to use room temperature ingredients when making your cream cheese frosting to get a velvety smooth texture. Let the butter and cream cheese sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Beat the butter and cream cheese until it becomes fluffy and paler in color. As you work with the frosting it may become warm, pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes, then whip it to get it back to the right consistency. Remember this frosting is softer than traditional buttercream.
Storage Instructions
Store any leftover slices in the fridge covered in saran wrap and in an air tight container. Store for up to three days for optimal flavor or freeze for up to a month. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before enjoying.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to cut a heart shaped cake?
Use a serrated knife, start at the tip of the cake and make even horizontal cuts straight down until you reach the top of the cake. Then cut each horizontal strip into 2-4 slices.
If you make this Heart Shaped Strawberry Cake, please let me know what you think! Leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @itsavemartin so I can see your creations!
xoxo, ave
Heart Shaped Strawberry Cake
Fall in love with this heart shaped strawberry cake! This strawberry heart cake is made with two layers of strawberry cake and frosted in strawberry cream cheese frosting! A cake perfect for any celebration!
Ingredients
Strawberry Cake
- Strawberry or White Box Cake Mix
- 3oz box Strawberry Jello ( + 2oz water )
- ¼ cup Flour
- ¾ cup Strawberry Puree
- 1 tsp Strawberry Extract or Emulsion
- ½ cup or 1 stick Butter, melted
- ½ cup Buttermilk
- 4 egg
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup (1 stick) Butter, room temperature
- 8oz (1 block) Cream Cheese, room temperature
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar
- ⅓ cup Strawberry Puree
- Pink food coloring, optional
Instructions
Strawberry Cake Layers
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare your cake tins by greasing and lining them with parchment paper.
- First, pour the jello mix into a small bowl or measuring cup and add in 2oz of water until dissolved.
- Throw all of your ingredients in a bowl and mix until just incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Be sure not to overmix!
- Pour the batter into two 8-inch cake pans or three 6-inch cake pans.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow the cake pans to cool for 5 minutes, then flip them out of the pans and wrap them in saran wrap. Place them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, add the butter and cream cheese. Beat until it becomes fluffy and pale in color.
- Next add in the powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time. Cover the mixer with a towel and mix on low until combined. Then bump up the speed to medium and mix until the texture is smooth and velvety.
- Lastly, add in the strawberry puree and mix until fully incorporated. If using food coloring, you can add in a few drops to get your desired color.
Trim Your Cake Layers
- To make a heart shape cake without a heart shaped pan, place one cake layer on a cake board and using a serrated knife, cut two diagonal lines to form the base of the heart. I like to eyeball this but feel free to use a ruler. Repeat this step with your second cake layer, using the first layer as a guide. You should have a total of 4 cake trimmings (semi-circles)
- Add a little buttercream onto your cake board and set your first layer on top, this will act as a “glue” and keep your cake in place.
- Using buttercream, adhere 2 of the cake trimmings against the top of the cake to form the top of the heart. Fill the top of the first layer with an even layer of frosting. Then place your second layer on top and adhere the other 2 cake trimmings, just as before.
- Crumb coat the entire cake in a thin layer of frosting with an offset spatula and use a bench scraper to smooth it all out. Then place the cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the frosting to set, it should be firm to the touch.
- Add a thicker second layer of frosting on the cake, smoothing with a bench scraper. Put it back in the fridge for 30 more minutes to set.
Decorate the Cake
- Add your different colors of buttercream to its own piping bag fitted with your desired piping tips. Tie off the ends of the piping bags.
- For the ruffle border, take the light shade of pink and pipe a ruffle around the top edge of the cake, letting the ruffle hang slightly off the edge.
- Then, take the darker shade of pink (hot pink) and pipe a large shell border on top of the ruffle, around the top edge of the cake.
- Next, using the light pink, pipe a smaller shell border, just above the darker pink on the top and bottom of the cake.
- Lastly, take your deeper shade of pink and using a small open star tip, pipe small rosettes in singles, doubles and clusters around the sides of the cake. You can leave them as is or finish them off by adding green leaves.
- Use a small rose tip and make small roses, where the strings meet, using the dark pink and then pipe small leaves off the roses.
- Finish the cake with some sprinkles and a cute message.
Notes
Recommended Tools
- 8” round cake pan or heart cake pan
- 10” Cake Board
- Piping Bags
- Offset Spatula
- Bench Scraper
- Open Star Piping Tips
- Alphabet Stamps (optional)
- Cake Turntable
- Pink Food Coloring (optional)
Tips for Making the Best Heart Shaped Strawberry Cake
- Chill the Cake Layers. When your cake is out of the oven, wrap them in plastic wrap while they are still warm and then freeze. This will trap in all the moisture and make it easier to work with when time to assemble.
- Make sure the frosting is the right consistency. It is extremely important to use room temperature ingredients when making your cream cheese frosting to get a velvety smooth texture. Let the butter and cream cheese sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Beat the butter and cream cheese until it becomes fluffy and paler in color. As you work with the frosting it may become warm, pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes, then whip it to get it back to the right consistency. Remember this frosting is softer than traditional buttercream.
- Measure your flour. Although we don’t use much in this recipe, it is super important to not use too much. Scoop spoonfuls of flour into your measuring cup and then swipe away the excess or you can measure it out (1 cup of flour is between 120-125 grams).
- Room Temperature Ingredients. To avoid a curdled batter or gummy cake texture, it is best to let your eggs and milk come up to room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Storage Instructions
- Store any leftover slices in the fridge covered in saran wrap and in an air tight container. Store for up to three days for optimal flavor or freeze for up to a month. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before enjoying.
