Alexis Heart Cake Recipes

HEART-SHAPED BANANA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch heart-shaped cake pan; line bottom with parchment paper. Butter parchment and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, stir together mashed banana, sour cream, and vanilla; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add the reserved banana mixture, beating until combined. Add the flour mixture in two parts, beating until combined after each, 2 to 3 minutes, being careful not to overmix
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Invert cake onto rack; peel off parchment paper. Reinvert cake and let cool completely, top side up.

HEART-SHAPED COCONUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch heart-shaped cake pan; line bottom with parchment paper. Butter parchment and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Place shredded coconut in the bowl of a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Stir chopped coconut into flour mixture until combined; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed. Add whole eggs, egg whites, and vanilla; beat until fluffy and combined. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture, alternating with the coconut milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, mixing well after each addition.
• Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.
• Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Invert cake onto rack; peel off parchment paper. Reinvert cake and let cool completely, top side up.

HEART CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 8-inch round cake pan and 8-inch square pan with cooking spray or grease with shortening. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and egg whites with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour 2 cups batter into round pan and remaining batter into square pan.
• Bake 27 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans; place on wire racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Cut round cake in half. On serving tray or large platter, arrange square cake and round cake halves into heart shape (see diagram); attach cakes with small amount of frosting. Spread frosting on sides and top of cake. Arrange chocolate candies around top edge of cake. About 2 inches inside chocolate candies, arrange cinnamon candies in heart shape.
• Place 3-inch heart-shaped open cookie cutter in center of cake. Pour candy decors evenly inside cookie cutter; remove cookie cutter from cake. Arrange conversation heart candies and chocolate candies around smaller heart.

SWEET HEART CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease or lightly spray bottoms only of one 8-inch round and one 8-inch square pan.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and egg whites with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter into pans.
• Bake square pan 25 to 29 minutes, round pan 29 to 34 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Cut round cake in half. Put square cake on tray with one point toward you. Place cut side of each half against one of the top sides of square cake to make a heart as shown in diagram.
• Tint frosting with a few drops food color. Frost cake with frosting. Store loosely covered.

VANILLA HEART-SHAPED CAKE WITH RASPBERRY-AND-CUSTARD-FILLING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread coconut in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until dry but not browning, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely on sheet.
• Increase oven temperature to 350°F. Butter a 10-by-2-inch heart-shaped cake pan (see cook's note for product link). Line bottom with parchment, butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a heatproof bowl set over (but not in) a pot of simmering water, whisk together eggs, sugar, and vanilla seeds until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm. Remove from pot and beat on high speed until thick and pale, about 4 minutes. Add flour mixture; whisk just to combine. Add butter; whisk to combine. Add crème fraîche, milk, and vanilla extract; whisk to combine.
• Scrape batter into prepared pan, smooth top, and bake until top springs back when lightly touched and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes, then invert onto rack, remove parchment, and let cool completely. Cake can be made ahead to this point, wrapped in plastic, and stored at room temperature up to 1 day.
• Whisk pastry cream to lighten, then whisk heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold whipped cream into pastry cream. Using a serrated knife, split cake in half horizontally. Use a 4 1/2-to-5-inch heart-shaped cutter to cut out center of bottom layer. Spread a thin layer of cream mixture (about 1 cup) over other (uncut) layer, then arrange about 2 3/4 cups berries over cream, covering entire layer.
• Dollop about 1 1/2 cups more cream mixture over berries, spreading with an offset spatula to cover. Place cut-out layer on top, bottom-side up. Fill heart-shaped hollow with remaining cream mixture. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or, covered, up to 24 hours.
• Frost top and sides of cake with crème-fraîche whipped cream. Sprinkle border with coconut. Arrange remaining 1 1/4 cups berries over cream mixture in heart-shaped hollow. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or, covered, up to 8 hours.