It’s that time of year again, Valentine’s Day is around the corner. Whether or not *sigh* you have anyone special to bake it for, this cake is a lot of fun to make and very easy!

I start by baking 2 4-inch round cakes. We’re focusing on decorations here, so feel free to use that box of cake mix that’s been sitting in your pantry. Try enhancing the flavor with add-ins like chocolate chips, citrus zest, coffee, etc. depending on which flavor of cake you choose. I actually used leftover frozen cake from Halloween, yes Halloween. I really like the flavor and crumb of Hershey’s chocolate cake, subbing in some hot coffee for the boiling water. Let it cool COMPLETELY before making any cuts.

To make a heart shape, make a cut at the top of the cake from the center to one side. Repeat on the other side to make a triangle with a rounded base. DO NOT throw away cuts, as we’ll put them on top to get the heart look.

Next, let’s dye our buttercream. I’m using some homemade Swiss meringue buttercream. Although it’s more involved and the price of eggs is outrageous, the flavor is well worth it, even in this economy (freeze your yolks!). Conversation hearts come in pastel pink, purple, green, yellow, and more. I chose a classic pastel pink. To achieve this color, I mixed in 6 drops of Color Right Pink food dye.

Now, let’s make a crumb coat. This particular cake was very moist and crumbly, so I needed a lot of icing to lock in those crumbs. Stack the cakes, with buttercream and/or strawberry jam in the middle. Stick the cuts that we made earlier on to the rounded edge with some buttercream. Carve additional cake off of the sides and middle until you get a heart shape. Since this cake was so crumbly, I let the crumb coat firm up for over 1 hour in the fridge.

Using leftover frosting, frost the cake until smooth, trying not to get any crumbs in there, which was easier said than done with this cake. An offset spatula, cake turntable, and/or bench scraper could (and did) come in handy here.

Now, it is time for the conversation part of the conversation heart. Get as personal as you want here. I was deciding “Be Mine” and “True Love” and ultimately went with Be Mine. Take any leftover frosting, add a FEW drops of red food coloring, and place into a piping bag with a number 3 tip.

It was almost midnight by now, and a Daniel was exhausted. The frosting may or may not have separated because someone *cough* added in too much food coloring. But I went with it. I tried to add some red decorating sugar to try to distract from the obvious.

And thats it! This cake was a lot of fun to make, and it is very customizable. Have fun with it. Happy Valentine’s Day!