Heart Cake

5 from 19 votes

This Heart Cake is a moist, soft chocolate cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting. It's the perfect way to celebrate Valentine's Day, a birthday, or anniversary. It's super easy and you don't need a heart-shaped pan to make this!

Prep Time45

Cook Time30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 387kcal

Author: Natalie

Equipment

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
1½ cups granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs room temperature
1 large egg yolk room temperature
½ cup whole milk room temperature
½ cup sour cream full fat, room temperature
½ cup hot water
2½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Cocoa Crumble (Optional)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
2 tablespoons brown sugar light or dark
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons cocoa powder

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

¾ cup fresh strawberries finely chopped
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons water or lemon juice
¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese full fat, room temperature
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups powdered sugar sifted
1 pinch salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line the bottom of one round 8″ cake pan and one square 8" cake pan with parchment paper. Spray the sides with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt then whisk to combine. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, oil, sour cream, milk and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly pour in the hot water into the wet ingredients while whisking until combined.
Use a rubber spatula to gradually stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake 19-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cakes. Place pans on a wire rack and allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes then remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before cutting or frosting.

Cocoa Crumbles (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the ingredients for the cocoa clusters. Stir them together with a spoon or mix them with a hand held mixer until combined and mixture forms small clusters. Spread the mixture evenly on the baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes, stirring once halfway through baking.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Break up larger clumps with your hands or a fork if too large. (I prefer to have a mix of some small and some just slightly larger chunks).

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Add the chopped strawberries, sugar and water or lemon juice to a small saucepan over low heat. Stir often for about 10 minutes or until mixture thickens and reduces to about 3 tablespoons. Remove from heat and pour strawberries in a small bowl to cool completely.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the room temperature butter and room temperature cream cheese on medium high til combined.
Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on medium high for 1-2 minutes until mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Add the vanilla extract, cooled strawberry mixture and a pinch of salt. Beat 1-2 minutes until completely combined. Place the strawberry cream cheese frosting in the fridge to chill until you're ready to frost the cake.

Assembly

Use a serrated knife to level off the tops, if needed. Cut the round cake in half. This will give you two half moon shapes. Place the square cake bottom side up on a large tray or a sheet pan (or back of a sheet pan if it doesn't fit on the sheet pan itself). Place each of the circle halves cut side down beside two adjacent sides of the square to form a heart shape.
Spread a thin of frosting over the top of the cake. This will be the crumb coat. Place cake in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to chill.
Frost cake with the remainder of the frosting. Top with cocoa crumbles and strawberries, if desired.

Notes

Cocoa crumbles: Cocoa crumbles are optional. If you prefer to leave them out, you can use crumbs from the trimmed cakes, freeze dried strawberries or sprinkles for decoration.

Frosting: I prefer finely chopped fresh strawberries. Frozen strawberries can be used. Thaw before using. Ground freeze dried strawberries can be used in place of fresh or frozen strawberries. Add them when you would add the strawberry puree. Use about 1/2 ounce freeze dried strawberries pulsed into powder. If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add a tablespoon of milk to thin it out.

Storage: Store cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It's best to frost and decorate the cake just before serving. Strawberries can release some of their juice overtime which can affect the consistency of the frosting.

To store the frosting, cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Nutrition Information: The nutrition information provided is an estimate. The calorie accuracy is not guaranteed.

Nutrition