Learn how to make a heart shaped cake without any special pans or supplies required. This is super easy and you probably already have what you need at home!

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A heart shaped cake decorated with pink, red and purple sprinkles.

How to make a heart shaped cake

I have a fun post for you today. As Valentines Day approaches, you might be trying to think of ways you can show your family how much you love them.

One fun way would be to make a heart shaped cake even if you don’t have a heart shaped pan.

I am going to show you how to make a heart shaped cake using one square and one circle cake pan. It is so easy you’ll be wondering why you never tried it before!

I know that most of you already have these two pans, so this is definitely a frugal dessert for Valentines Day.

A heart shaped cake decorated with pink, red and purple sprinkles.

Ingredients and Equipment:

  • Box of Cake Mix (also need oil, water and eggs to make the cake)
  • square cake pan (I used an 8-inch square pan)
  • circle cake pan (again, I used an 8-inch circle pan)

That is all you need. Are you ready to learn how to make a heart shaped cake?

A heart shaped cake decorated with pink, red and purple sprinkles with 1 piece cut out of it and ready to be served.

How do you make a heart shaped cake?

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. The mix the cake batter according to package directions. Spray cake pans with non-stick cooking spray.

Fill cake pans with batter to about the same height (you’ll end up putting a little more batter in the square pan because it has a little more surface area than the circle).

Bake the cake according to the package directions until a toothpick inserted into the cakes comes out clean. I baked my cakes at 350 F for 20 minutes in the 8″ pans and that was the perfect amount of time.

Remove cakes from pans and let cool completely on wire cooling racks.

Once cooled, cut the circle cake in half. Do your best to cut it right down the middle or you’ll end up with a lopsided heart.

Process photos showing how to make a heart shaped cake

Set the two halves of your circle on two sides of your square and you will see your heart start to take shape.

Now, you’ll notice the tops of the cakes aren’t even, so you’ll want to take a long serrated knife to cut off a portion of the top of each cake, aiming for a nice flat top.

You can also use a cake leveler. Amazon has several for sale here and I just love mine. It makes leveling cakes so much easier!

Once you’ve trimmed off some of the tops of the cakes and you are satisfied your cakes are pretty level, flip them over! Now you should have a nice beautifully smooth heart shaped cake.

A heart shaped cake decorated with pink, red and purple sprinkles with a piece being cut from the cake

How to make a heart cake without a mold!

Now you know how to easily make a heart cake without a cold. It is so fun and easy! You can use any type of cake you prefer.

Red velvet cake mix is really pretty. We also like strawberry cake and chocolate cake mix. Just use what your family enjoys or whatever you already have in your pantry.

You can also dye the batter from a white cake mix with food coloring so the cake is any color that you prefer. My kids love red, pink, purple or blue cake but any color would work great in this recipe.

Close up of a heart shaped cake decorated with pink, red and purple sprinkles with a piece being removed from the cake.

Icing ideas:

Now, just decorate the heart cake how ever you desire. I like to put a crumb coat on my cakes before I frost it with my colored or flavored frosting.

The heart shaped cake with a crumb cake on it

The crumb coat ensures you won’t have any ugly stray crumbs in your finished cake.

You can use a store bough frosting to decorate this cake or a homemade frosting works great too.

Some of our favorites include: 

A heart shaped cake decorated with pink, red and purple sprinkles.

How to Store:

Store any leftover cake covered at room temperature for up to 5-7 days. You can also freeze the cake if you prefer.

Wrap the cake with plastic wrap or foil. Then place it in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the cake at room temperature and then it’s ready to enjoy.

Options:

You can buy a heart shaped pan if you prefer.

It won’t be as big as if you piece it together yourself, but it is definitely a time saver. I used the square and circle cake pans because I already had them on hand.

**Note: You can use any size cake pans you have, just make sure the square and circle are the same size in diameter.

What do you think? Now that you know how to make a heart shaped cake from regular cake pans, do you think you’ll make your family one for Valentines day? Let us know.

Print this heart shaped cake recipe below:

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How to make a Heart Shaped Cake

4.75 from 4 votes
Learn how to make a heart shaped cake without any special pans or supplies. This is so easy and you probably already have what you need.
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Cool 10 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Servings 10
Cuisine Cake
Course Dessert
Calories 260
Author Carrie Barnard

Ingredients

  • Strawberry Cake Mix Ingredients need to make the Cake based on the package Instructions)

Instructions

  • Make the cake batter according the cake mix instructions on the package.
  • Spray the square and circle cake pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Fill the cake pans with the cake batter to approximately the same height in each pan so that the cakes will be approximately the same thickness (the square pan will need more batter than the circle pan).
  • Bake the cakes based on the package instructions on the cake mix for an 8” pan.
  • Allow the cake to sit for approximately 10 minutes to cool slightly in the pans.
  • Then remove the cakes from the pan and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Once the cakes are cool, cut the top of the cakes to make sure that they are level.
  • Then cut the circle cake in half.  Try to cut it right down the middle of the cake.
  • Place the 2 halves of the circle cake on 2 sides of the square cake to create a heart shaped cake.
  • Once the cakes have been cut, flip the cakes over and you’ll have a perfectly even cake to icing and decorate!
  • Then icing the cake and decorate with the sprinkles of your choice!

Recipe Notes

Store in an air tight container for up to 5 days.  

Nutrition Facts

Calories 260kcal, Carbohydrates 32g, Protein 4g, Fat 15g, Saturated Fat 8g, Cholesterol 33mg, Sodium 369mg, Potassium 155mg, Fiber 1g, Sugar 17g, Vitamin A 48IU, Calcium 70mg, Iron 2mg

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Learn how to make a heart shaped cake without any special pans or supplies. This is so easy and you probably already have what you need. You’ll love this heart cake for Valentine’s Day or any day of the year.  #eatingonadime #cakerecipes #heartcake #valentinesdayrecipes
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About the Author

Hi, I’m Carrie. Welcome to Eating on a Dime!

I’m on a mission to help you cook delicious meals without busting your budget. Together we are going to cook real food… for real families.

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  1. 4 stars
    Wonderful directions, and my sons loved being able to help make and decorate. We will make again for Valentine’s day treat.