Heart Shaped Chocolate Cake
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This Heart Shaped Chocolate Cake will win over all the special sweethearts in your life. A moist chocolate cake combined with the best buttercream frosting equals pure delight!
For other decadent chocolate recipes, try our Mini Chocolate Bundt Cakes or Triple Chocolate Brownies!
Heart Cake
Back in the day, I made a heart-shaped cake for my hubby every Valentine’s Day. Over the last few years, I let this tradition go because I always seemed to be baking something new for the blog instead. Since my original heart pan wasn’t looking so good anymore, I decided to buy this new one (linked below) to bring back the tradition of the “romantic heart cake”.
This year’s heart cake is being dedicated to our son and daughter-in-law and their BIG NEWS! Josh and Tiffany are expecting a baby GIRL in early August, and we’ll be grandparents for the very first time! We are SO excited!
Why This Recipe Works:
- SIMPLE INGREDIENTS – Most of these ingredients are pantry staples and ones that most bakers keep handy.
- INEXPENSIVE – Skip the store-bought cakes and make your own! Cheaper and tastier!
- DELICIOUS – This cake has amazing chocolate flavor, a perfect crumb texture, with a rich buttercream frosting. The perfect dessert!
- MAKES A GREAT GIFT – Do you have a chocolate lover in your life? A heart shaped cake is a perfect gift for a variety of special occasions or just because.
What You’ll Need:
These are simple ingredients that should be easy to find in your grocery store.
- One Large Egg
- Canola Oil
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla Extract
- Granulated Sugar
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- All-purpose Flour
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder
- Kosher Salt
- HOT brewed coffee
You’ll also need a heart-shaped baking pan (linked below).
Since we are cold brew fanatics, we always have a carafe handy. I heated some up in in the microwave to bloom the cocoa.
Step 1
Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray a heart shaped pan with baking spray. I prefer to use a non-stick baking spray with flour – when I make cakes.
Step 2
Combine the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, canola oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Use a wire whisk to combine well.
Step 3
Add the dry to the wet. Add the sugar and mix again. Then add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl – the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt – into the wet ingredients. Stir cake batter together until just combined. Add the hot coffee, and stir gently again.
Step 4
Add batter to pan. Use a rubber spatula to help pour batter into the prepared pan.
Step 5
Bake. Bake this cake for approximately 19-20 minutes, or until a toothpick, when inserted, comes out clean. Let the cake sit for about five minutes and then carefully remove to a cooling rack.
What You’ll Need for the Buttercream:
- Unsalted Butter
- Half and Half
- Vanilla
- Powdered Sugar (sifted)
- A pinch of salt
How to make Buttercream Frosting:
Step 1
Beat butter. In a mixing bowl, use a hand-held mixer to beat the butter until creamy, about two minutes.
Step 2
Add remaining ingredients. Add the vanilla, half and half, and powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt – and continue beating until creamy.
Step 3
Add food coloring. Separate frosting into small bowls and add food coloring (according to how many colors you are using).
Step 4
Frost cake. Then use a spoon to add the frosting to the top of the cake, covering the entire cake with swirls or other designs.
Storing and Freezing
- STORE leftover chocolate cake in an airtight container for about 4-5 days. You can keep it at room temperature for a couple of days and beyond that, I recommend refrigerating the cake.
- FREEZE leftover cake (without frosting) wrapped in plastic wrap and a freezer bag in our freezer for up to three months.
Recipe FAQs:
You can use a square cake pan and a round pan and bake cakes with approximately same height in both pans. Then use the entire square cake and use one point as the bottom point of the heart. Then cut the round cake and shape for the two top sides of the heart.
There is no right way to slice a heart-shaped cake. But as you can see from my photos, I prefer to cut it so that some of the slices are rectangular and the others are rounded triangular slices. All are close in size.
Yes, you can use this recipe to make several little cakes, a small sheet cake, or even cupcakes. Adjust baking time if you change shapes.
How to add color for any special occasion:
- Separate the buttercream to separate bowls. Add a drop or two of food coloring to each bowl and mix well.
- If making a swirl, add spoonfuls of frosting to the piping bag, rotating colors as you go. Then pipe buttercream to cooled cake.
- If not making a swirl, add one color at a time and spread with a knife.
Example colors for special occasions:
- Valentine’s Day – Use any varieties of red and/or pink!
- Easter – Add yellow, pink, green colors to the buttercream.
- 4th of July – Add red, white, and blue colors.
- Christmas – Add red and green.
- Baby Showers – Use pink and blue or a rainbow of colors.
- The sky is the limit!
Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)
xoxo ~Sue
Heart Shaped Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup canola oil – 55 grams
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar – 150 grams
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour – 90 grams
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder – 33 grams
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup HOT coffee (75 grams) – or hot water
For the buttercream frosting:
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter – at room temperature
- 1 ½ Tablespoon half and half
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar – 180 grams
- food coloring and/or sprinkles
Instructions
Make chocolate cake:
- Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray a heart shaped pan with baking spray. (I prefer to use the baking spray with flour when I bake cakes.)
- Combine the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the egg, canola oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Use a wire whisk to combine well.
- Add the dry to the wet. Add the sugar and mix again. Then add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl – the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt – into the wet ingredients. Stir cake batter together until just combined. Add the hot coffee (or water), and stir gently again.
- Add batter to pan. Use a rubber spatula to help pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake. Bake this cake for approximately 20 minutes, or until a toothpick, when inserted, comes out clean. Let the cake sit for about five minutes and then carefully remove to a cooling rack.
Make buttercream frosting:
- Beat butter. In a mixing bowl, use a hand-held mixer to beat the butter until creamy, about two minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients. Add the vanilla, half and half, and powdered sugar – and continue beating until creamy.
- Add food coloring. Separate frosting into small bowls and add food coloring (according to how many colors you are using).
- Frost cake. Then use a spoon to add the frosting to the top of the cake, covering the entire cake with swirls or other designs.
Notes
- STORE leftover chocolate cake in an airtight container for about 4-5 days. You can keep it at room temperature for a couple of days and beyond that, I recommend refrigerating the cake.
- FREEZE leftover cake (without frosting) wrapped in plastic wrap and a freezer bag in our freezer for up to three months.
Made this for my daughters birthday (she wanted a heart shaped cake) and it was not only easy, but delicious! Excellent recipe!
Thanks Janelle!
I had a ball making this cake with my granddaughter. It didn’t look quite as beautiful as yours but she was so proud of herself.
I’m happy to hear this, Julie!
This cookie is so beautiful and the flavors…PERFECTION! Perfect for Valentine’s Day!
I love to hear this, Laura!
So fun!
💜