How to Make a Heart-Shaped Cake Without a Heart-Shaped Pan

Even if you don't have a heart-shaped pan, you can still make a heart-shaped cake easily.

Just because you don't have a special pan doesn't mean you can't make a beautiful heart-shaped cake. Initially, it may not look as smooth as a cake baked in a heart-shaped pan, but after you frost the cake, no one will know the difference. By carefully cutting the right shape out of your cake, you can save the money you would have spent on buying a special pan, and put it toward delicious cake ingredients instead.

Things You'll Need

• Round or square cake pan
• Butter
• Flour or cocoa powder
• Parchment paper
• Cake batter
• Wire rack
• Felt-tip marker
• Sharp, serrated knife
• Cutting board

Instructions

1. Butter both the sides and the bottom of the entire interior of your cake pan. Shake flour or cocoa powder, depending on if your cake is light or dark in color, so all the butter is lightly dusted.

2. Trace the bottom of your pan on a piece of parchment paper, then cut the parchment paper so it fits your pan's bottom. Place the parchment paper inside the pan, on top of the butter and flour or cocoa powder.

3. Bake your cake batter in the pan according to your recipe. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack once it is done baking.

4. Slide the cake onto a cutting board and place a piece of parchment paper on top. Draw a heart shape that takes up as much of the cake as possible. Use a felt-tip marker so you do not have to press down hard and accidentally damage the cake.

5. Cut out the heart shape you drew on the parchment paper. Firmly press it into place on top of the cake; the moisture of the cake will hold it in place if you press down.

6. Use your sharp, serrated knife to cut away the excess cake that is outside the shape of your heart design. Cut confidently and firmly, as this will help make the cuts as smooth as possible. Don't worry if there are some crumbs; those can be fixed when you frost the cake.

Tips & Warnings

• When you frost your heart-shaped cake, make sure to do a crumb coat first. A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting applied to a cake in order to seal in stray crumbs. After you apply the crumb coat, put the cake in your refrigerator to chill for an hour or two before applying the final layer of frosting, including all the decorations and things you want people to see. Crumb coats trap loose crumbs and keep them from ruining the finished frosted look of your cake.

References

• "The Professional Chef (Eighth Edition)"; Culinary Institute of America; 2006