Valentine's Day Heart Cake

Make the Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spay your 39-inch round cake pans with baking spray.
2. Beat all of your box cake mix ingredients together in a large bowl using a hand mixer.
3. Take your mixed cake batter and place divide it into two bowls.
4. Add a few drops of pink food coloring into one of the bowls of divided cake batter.
5. Grab your round 9-inch cake pans and scoop about ¼ cup of the colored batter into each cake pan on top of the white cake mix to create a tie-dyed look.
6. Place your 3 9-inch round cake pans into the preheated oven and bake for about 28-32 minutes.
7. You’ll know when your Valentine’s Day dessert recipe is complete when a toothpick comes out clean after being inserted into the center of the cake.
8. Allow your Valentine’s Day heart marble cake to cool completely before attempting to decorate.

Make the Vanilla Frosting

1. Using your standing mixer beat all of the ingredients listed above except for the food coloring.
2. Combine the ingredients until you have a smooth texture but stiff peaks.
3. Scoop 2 cups of your homemade frosting into one of twomedium bowls.
4. Scoop another 1 cup of homemade frosting into the second of two medium bowls.
5. Using a dropper you’ll then mix in 2 drops of pink gel food coloring into one of the bowls of homemade frosting.
6. Using a dropper mix 4 drops of pink gel food coloring into the second bowl of vanilla frosting mix.
7. This process will leave you with a bowl of white frosting, a bowl of dark pink frosting and a bowl of light pink frosting for use in the next step of making this layered cake.

Build the 3 Layer Cake

1. Using a large piping bag with a star tip, scoop 1 cup of white frosting into 1 side of the piping bag.
2. Next, you’ll scoop 1 cup of the light pink frosting into the other side of the same large piping bag.
3. Take one cake layer and place it onto a cake board.
4. Cut the dome off the cake to make sure this first layer of your 3-layered Valentine’s Day dessert cake is even.
5. Repeat the above steps with the other two layers of cake.
6. Now you’ll want to scoop 1 cup of white frosting onto the bottom layer and spread it evenly.
7. Grab the second cake layer and place it on top. Spread another cup of white frosting evenly on top of this second cake layer.
8. Lastly, get your last layer of cake and place it on top of the second cake layer.
9. Frost this 3rd layer of cake with the remainder of your white frosting.
10. You’ll need to place your layered cake in the fridge for 30 minutes to let the base frosting harden.
11. Take the rest of your light pink frosting and put the bowl into your microwave for about 10 seconds to soften your homemade frosting.
12. Scoop the rest of this light pink frosting into the piping bag.
13. Scoop your darker pink frosting into another piping bag that has a # 17 tip on it.

Decorate The Cake

1. Once your layered cake has cooled for 30 minutes, take it out of the fridge.
2. Cut off the tip of the piping bag that contains your light pink frosting.
3. Pipe drips of this light pink frosting around the edge of your cake.
4. Sprinkle some of your Valentine’s Day dessert sprinkles onto the light pink frosting drips.
5. Grab your cookie cutter and lightly push it into the front center of your 3 layered cake to create a heart outline.
6. Using the dark pink homemade frosting piping bag, fill in the heart outline.
7. Using the larger piping bag with the star tip, pipe dollops of frosting onto the top of the cake.
8. Top with cherries and enjoy!