Vintage Heart-Shaped Cake (No Special Pan Needed)
This charming Vintage Heart-Shaped Cake was tucked inside my grandmother Dorothy’s recipe box after she clipped it from the February 11, 1979 issue of Parade magazine and I finally made it! I like to imagine she saved it because it made her smile and hoped to bake it one day for someone she loved.
The best part? You don’t need a special heart-shaped cake pan! One round cake and one square cake come together to create the sweetest heart-shaped dessert. Finished with soft pink buttercream, white piped accents, bright red maraschino cherries, and the word “LOVE” piped across the top, it’s a nostalgic showstopper that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, birthdays, bridal showers, or any celebration of love.
Why You’ll Love This Vintage Heart-Shaped Cake
• No special heart-shaped cake pan needed.
• A fun vintage cake idea from 1979.
• Rich, moist, old-fashioned homemade chocolate cake that is incredibly delicious!
• Smooth homemade buttercream frosting tinted pink which makes it so cute!
• Perfect for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, bridal showers, birthdays, Mother’s Day, or weddings.
• Makes a beautiful centerpiece that’s easier than it looks.
• A wonderful recipe to bake with kids or grandchildren.
What You Need
Ingredient Notes
• Unsweetened special dark cocoa powder gives the cake its rich chocolate flavor.
• Boiling water blooms the cocoa, creating an extra moist, tender crumb.
• Vegetable oil helps keep the cake soft for several days.
• Gel food coloring creates vibrant pink and red frosting without thinning the buttercream.
• Maraschino cherries add the perfect retro finishing touch and complement the vintage inspiration.
How to Make a Heart-Shaped Cake
• Preheat the oven and prepare one 8-inch square cake pan and one 8-inch round cake pan.
• Mix the cake batter, divide it between the pans, and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool the cakes completely.
• Prepare the buttercream frosting, reserving some white frosting before tinting the rest pink.
• Turn the square cake so it looks like a diamond, then cut the round cake in half and place one half on each upper side to form a heart.
• Frost the cake with pink buttercream, pipe a white border, add maraschino cherries, and write “LOVE” on top with red buttercream.
Frequently Asked Questions
• Do I need a heart-shaped cake pan? No! That’s the beauty of this vintage recipe. A square cake and a round cake fit together perfectly to create a heart.
• Can I make the cake ahead of time? Yes. Bake the cake layers a day in advance, wrap them well, and frost the cake the next day.
• Can I freeze the cake? Yes. Wrap the unfrosted cake layers tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months. Thaw before assembling and frosting.
• Can I use store-bought frosting? Homemade buttercream gives the cake its classic vintage look and flavor, but store-bought frosting will work if you’re short on time.
• What should I write on top? LOVE is my favorite because it’s simple, timeless, and photographs beautifully. XOXO or I LOVE YOU are also sweet choices.
Quick Tips
• Use gel food coloring instead of liquid food coloring for brighter colors.
• Drain the maraschino cherries well and pat them dry before decorating.
• An offset spatula makes frosting the cake much easier.
• Refrigerate the cake for about 20 minutes before piping if the frosting becomes too soft.
• Use a small round piping tip to neatly write LOVE across the center.
• Save this recipe for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, engagement parties, bridal showers, birthdays, Mother’s Day, or anytime you want to make someone feel loved.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about this special cake. It was so fun and special to finally make it after my grandmother saved this recipe all those years ago (47 years ago).
As I write this, it’s summertime and not even close to Valentine’s Day, but the way I see it, LOVE is always in season. So it doesn’t have to be a holiday to make this special cake for someone you love.
Vintage Heart-Shaped Cake (No Special Pan Needed)
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, such as Hershey's Special Dark
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup boiling water
For the Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pink gel food coloring
- Red gel food coloring
- 8 Well-drained maraschino cherries, with stems, for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour one 8-inch square cake pan and one 8-inch round cake pan, or grease the pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.In a large bowl, add the sugar, eggs, milk, cocoa powder, oil, salt, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and flour in the order listed. Do not stir. Pour in the boiling water and mix until the batter is smooth and well combined.Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in about one-third of the confectioners' sugar. Add the milk, salt, and vanilla and mix until combined. Gradually beat in the remaining confectioners' sugar until combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reserve about 1 cup of the frosting for white piping. Tint about 3 tablespoons of the remaining frosting red with gel food coloring, then tint the rest pink.
- Level the domed tops of the cakes, if needed. Place the square cake on a large serving board, cut side down, with one corner pointing upward so it forms a diamond. Cut the round cake in half. Spread a thin layer of pink buttercream on the cut side of each half, then place one half against each of the two upper sides of the diamond, cut side down, with the frosted cut sides touching the square cake to create a heart shape.
- Spread the remaining pink buttercream over the entire cake, smoothing it with an offset spatula. Transfer the reserved white buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (such as #32) and pipe a decorative border around the edge of the cake.If desired, lightly press a 4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter into the frosting to create a guide. Transfer the red buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (such as #4) and pipe LOVE inside the heart. Pipe a white border around the heart, then arrange the well-drained maraschino cherries evenly around the top edge of the cake before serving.Store covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.