A rich Red Velvet Heart Cake for Valentines’ Day, weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations! Prep your cake pan and use a box of red velvet cake mix (or desired flavor) or a simple recipe.
Tools:
- Heart Cake Pan (PHT-63)
- Cake Knife (CK-10)
- Small Offset Spatula (SPAT-4OS)
- Decorating Tip Set & Pastry Bag (SPET-008)
Optional-
- Cooling Rack (CR-HALF)
- Silicone Work Mat (SFM-2436 or SM-HALF)
- Turntable (TT-122APS)
- Bench Scraper (BS-57)
Baking the Cake
1. Make the cake according to box directions (a typical
cake mix will yield approximately 5 cups of batter). This cake pan will require
2.5 cups of batter per pan.
2. Bake at 325° F (165° C) for 35-40 mins.
3. Once the cake is baked and removed from the oven, cut
the top of the cake while in the pan. Run your knife along the top of the pan.
This will ensure that you have a flat even cake. Once the excess has been
trimmed, invert the cake on your cooling rack, allowing the cakes to cool. You will need two cake layers to assemble this cake.
4. Take the excess cut offs and break into smaller crumbs.
Place these crumbs on a cookie sheet and put in the over at 325° F (165° C) for
approximately 5-10 mins, toasting the cake pieces. Remove from the oven
allow it to fully cool.
5. Take the toasted cake crumbs and place in a food
processor. Process until they are very small and sand-like in texture. Place
in a bowl and set aside.
Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients:
- Cream Cheese (room temp), 8 oz
- Butter (room temp), 1 cup
- Powdered sugar, 2 lbs
- Vanilla, 1 tsp
Directions:
- Whisk water and cornstarch together in a large saucepan
- Stir strawberries and sugar into the water mixture.
- Cook over medium heat until thick (about 10 minutes).
- Allow to cool completely before use.
- If you want a smooth filling, you can use your immersion blender to blend the jam to get rid of any remaining chunks of strawberries.
Cake Assembly
Directions:
- You will need an 8” cake board for this cake.
- Place the first heart cake layer (cut side up) onto the board. Scoop icing onto the cake and spread out the icing evenly.
- Place the second heart cake layer on this icing with the cut side down. Press down to ensure that the cake is well-bonded with the icing.
- Scoop some icing onto the top of the cake and spread over the entire cake to create a “crumb coat” on the cake. This will lock in any crumbs and keep them out of your final icing. An offset spatula is well-suited for this task. Allow a thin coat of icing to set or dry for a brief period.
- Next, apply a heavier coat of icing. You do not need to worry about making this smooth or perfect, we will be creating a “velvet” effect with the cake crumbs. If you are leaving the top of the cake bare, you can spend a little time making this layer smooth prior to finishing the sides.
- Now that the cake has been iced, coat it with cake crumbs. Holding the cake board in one hand, scoop some of the cake crumbs with the other hand and press the crumbs to the icing. Continue this process until the sides of the cake have been totally coated. Brush off any excess crumbs on the bottom of the board.
- The final step is to pipe a border around the bottom of the cake and rosettes on the top to create the finished look. You can use any star piping tube. We suggest the larger sizes for this: 1M, 4B, 2110.
- Create a shell border along the bottom of the cake. Holding the bag at a 45-degree angle, ensure that the icing is half on the cake and half on the board.
- Now that the border is complete, finish the cake with some rosettes on the top of the cake. Using the same tip you used for the border, pipe a rosette by using a small circular motion with your hand. You can sprinkle some of the toasted crumbs on the rosettes if desired.
- Optional- You can leave the top of the cake clean of crumbs, pipe a message, or cover with fruit.