(FOR A TUTORIAL CLICK HERE)
I’m so excited to share another creation I have been working on for Valentines Day. We had cookies for breakfast (why not?) and now here is my we-can-make-it-to-lunch-without-eating-it-if-we-really-really-try cake.
Introducing my Surprise Inside Heart Cake.
Pretty boring huh?
This is white vanilla frosting covered white cake with red velvet cake crumbled on top.
I loved the contrast in color and textures here.
Now.
You know I cant make a cake without a surprise inside.
Did ya guess? Of course you did. I have very smart readers.
Plus, its like in the title and stuff.
I gotta be honest. This was not easy. This is my second attempt at my Heart Cake.
It involves a lot of carving and vision and attention to detail, and well, I have been seriously lacking in those lately.
But I have lots of tips and tricks for next time, so I may even attempt a tutorial if warranted!
Makes enough for one 2-layer 9-inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes
Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
- 3 1/3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 3-6 tablespoons liquid red food coloring, such as McCormick
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease and lightly flour three 9 x 2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, sift the cake flour, baking soda, salt and set aside.
- In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time,beating well after each addition.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the butter mixture and beat well.
- Add the buttermilk to the batter in three parts, alternating with the cake flour. With each addition, stir until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overheat.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.
- Divide the batter among the prepared pans.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
- When the cake has cooled, spread the frosting between the layers, then the ice top and sides of the cake with frosting.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
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Would you like a little piece of my heart? 🙂
And since this was my second attempt that the Heart Cake (in two days!), I did not make the white cake from scratch. I used white cake from a box and followed the directions for the WHITE cake. No egg yolks allowed. 🙂
But, believe it or not, I have actually found a white cake recipe I really like and will be sharing that soon!
Hello! I have a red velvet cake in the oven right now, and I noticed that you said to let it cool for an hour in the pan once you take it out of the oven. I was wondering if there was any specific reason to do this since most advice I’ve seen recommends not leaving the cake in the pan for more than 10 minutes.
I did this recipe but I made cupcakes and they came out yummy!!! I was wondering if the addition of the almond extract that you used is to replace the vanilla or you used them both together? Thank you!
I can not bake at all BUT I am surely going to try and bake this. It looks so G O O D!!!!.
Hi! i recently came across your blog and just love it! I have a question i was wondering i could ask you? In using coloring, is it better to use gel colors or liquid ones? I am planning on making a red velvet cake and the recipe calls for 5 tbsps of coloring, but i am hesitant to use the liquid because of the coloring taste. I just would not know how much gel to use in place of it.
I would definitely use gel paste… you will want to get a feel for it, to see how much you need. Just start small and work your way up! 🙂
i want to try this for valentines day but what white cake recipe did you use?
i was just wondering what white cake recipe you used I want to try this but want it to come out right!! thanks!!!