Make your Valentine's Day extra special this year with these adorable mini heart cakes! Each is just the right size for 1-2 people to share, making the perfect gift for someone special. You'll want to make these little cakes every year!
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Use Heart Shaped Cutters
I love baking for every holiday, Valentine's Day included! Normally, I make these Red Velvet Cupcakes or my Vanilla Bean Cake with Raspberry Filling, but this year, I'm going in a different direction. I'm using these mini heart-shaped cutters to make the most perfect little mini heart layer cakes!
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Just bake the cake like normal, then use a cookie cutter to cut out the tiny heart cakes, then frost them however you'd like. They're so much fun, and one batch makes enough for six little cakes!
The best part? There are so many ways to decorate them! Keep it simple with Vanilla Buttercream and fresh berries, or dye the frosting to make cakes that look like candy hearts.
Why you'll love these mini heart cakes
- Seriously easy to make: After baking the cake like normal, let it cool completely, and then use the large heart-shaped cutter to cut each of the mini heart cakes. Chill, then frost however you'd like!
- Customizable: The options are endless! I used my Vanilla Almond cake recipe, but you can use any of the cake or frosting recipes from the blog! Change the colors, decorations, and more to make them your own.
- Just the right size: I prefer to make these cake hearts nice and small, so they're basically the same size as a tall cupcake. They're just right for 1-2 people, so you can even box up any extras to gift to someone special!
Ingredients
Since you can use any cake recipe for these mini cakes, the ingredients will vary. I used my fan-favorite Vanilla Almond Cake Recipe using the Reverse Creaming Method, which makes it truly foolproof. Start by mixing the butter and all purpose flour together first, then add the rest of the ingredients!
My bakery-style Vanilla Buttercream is made with a mixture of cream cheese and salted butter with vanilla and almond extract for lots of flavor. It's the perfect topping, and the white color gives these mini heart cakes a sophisticated look.
I filled half of them with a thin layer of strawberry compote and the other half with a thin layer of raspberry filling. The fruit flavor tastes wonderful with the creamy frosting!
There are a bunch of delicious variations below, so don't miss those!
How to Make Mini Heart Cakes
Be sure to visit the recipe card below to get the full step-by-step tutorial and precise measurements. The steps below will give you a quick overview so you can understand the process and make these cakes perfectly the first time!
Tip: For best results, let the cake cool completely after baking and refrigerate or freeze the cake for a couple of hours.
Instructions
Make a 1x serving of any of the cake recipes on the blog. This will fill a ¼-inch sheet pan. You can also double the recipe (press the 2x button in the recipe card) and use a half sheet pan.
Let the cake cool completely for easy cutting.
Cut out 12 mini hearts with a 2" heart-shaped cookie cutter or biscuit cutter (I used this set).
Place the cold or frozen cut out hearts on small cake boards or flattened cupcake liners. Carefully saw each heart in half with a serrated knife to make two cake layers.
Spread 1 Tablespoon of strawberry or raspberry compote on each bottom cake layer, then top the cakes with the top heart cake layer.
Use a star or dot tip to frost the top of the mini cake with vanilla buttercream. I used a piping bag with a round dot tip to make some dollops of icing around the top. Add fresh fruit on the top of the cake for a fresh touch.
If you have extra cake scraps, roll them together to make mini cake truffles! They'll look fantastic on top of each mini cake.
🎥 Step-by-Step Video
🎥 I hope you enjoy the video above (you may have to hit "play" twice on mobile devices). You can also view all my bakery recipe videos and tips on the following channels:
Variations
Ready to get creative? There are many different combinations of flavors and frostings that would work great for this cake, like my double chocolate cake, red velvet cake, or strawberry cake. Just pick your favorite cake and your favorite frosting, and go for it!
Mini Chocolate Heart Cakes
Use my fudgy dark chocolate cake recipe and chocolate frosting for a rich chocolate flavor. Either add a layer of ganache between the layers or try the raspberry or strawberry compote for a fruity note!
Strawberry Heart Cakes
My strawberry cake has tons of flavor and would work very well for this recipe! The pink cake would look amazing on your dessert table, too. Add the strawberry compote between each layer and stop with vanilla buttercream and strawberries.
Red Velvet Heart Cakes
Make my super moist red velvet cake, then add extra vanilla buttercream frosting between the layers.
Not a fan of frosting or buttercream? Stabilized whipped cream would also work well!
Use a Linked Heart Pan Instead
If you'd prefer not to cut out the mini cakes, another option that I have enjoyed using is this mini heart-shaped nonstick pan. These use about ⅓ cup of batter in each pan, and they come out easily if you spray them first with a cooking spray that contains flour, like Baker's Joy.
You can even pipe on words to make a mini message heart cake! They're perfect for Valentine's Day, but they'd also be great at a Mother's Day brunch or a bridal shower. They're the perfect way to celebrate any special love-themed occasion!
Want a larger cake?
Divide the batter between an 8-inch square pan and an 8-inch round pan. Cut the round cake in half and place the cut sides along two sides of the square cake. Be sure to ice well to combine the pieces together before adding a crumb coat and frosting like normal.
Storage
Once decorated, your cakes can sit at room temperature for up to 1 day. After that, they should be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen (remove any fresh fruit first).
My cakes are always best at room temperature, so let the chilled cakes sit on the counter for about an hour before serving.
FAQs
What's the best way to make mini heart cakes?
There are a few different techniques, but my favorite is to bake the cake in a sheet pan, then cut out the heart shapes with cookie cutters. This method is much easier than carving hearts out of cake, and you end up with cakes that are the perfect miniature size! You can also bake your cake batter in a mini heart-shaped nonstick pan.
What flavors are best for heart cakes?
I recommend selecting classic flavor combinations. Make a chocolate cake with strawberry filling and a chocolate frosting, or try my vanilla almond cake recipe with raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream. You can use any of the cake recipes on the blog, so feel free to get creative!
What is the smallest heart cake you can make?
That depends on the sizes of the cutters you have! I like to use a 2-inch cutter, which is very similar to the size of a cupcake. However, you can find even smaller cutters. Those might get tricky to use, so make sure your cake is very cold for easy cutting.
Aren't these little heart cakes just precious? Which flavors would you want to try? I love the vanilla almond cake recipe so much; it was a perfect fit for this technique and is fancy enough for any occasion!
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Thanks for Reading. ❤️
📖 Recipe & Step-by-Step Instructions
Easy Mini Heart Cakes from a Sheet Pan
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake Recipe
- 1 x batch prepared vanilla almond cake (or use a different moist cake recipe flavor in a 1x batch and follow the directions to bake the cake in a ¼ sheet pan for a 1x batch, and a ½ sheet for a 2x batch.)
Mini Heart Cake Fillings
- 1x batch prepared Strawberry Compote
- 1x batch Simple Raspberry Compote Filling
Frosting and Decorations
Instructions
Bake the Vanilla Almond cake in a Sheet pan
- Use the vanilla almond cake recipe or another moist cake recipe according to the recipe instructions. A 1x batch of my cake recipes fits into a ¼ sheet pan, and a 2x batch fits in a ½ sheet pan.
- The delicate cake will be easiest to layer from cold or frozen. After baking, allow the cake to cool, then wrap the cake in the pan thoroughly in plastic wrap. Freeze the cake in the pan for at least 2 hours or up to 2 weeks ahead of time.
Make the heart cake fillings
- Choose your cake filling flavor, and prepare your cake filling(s) in advance so it has time to cool. I filled half my mini cakes with raspberry compote and half with strawberry compote.
Cut out and decorate the Mini Heart Cakes
- The mini heart cakes are easiest to assemble from cold or frozen. Cut out 12 mini hearts with a 2" heart-shaped cookie cutter or biscuit cutter. Place the cold or frozen cut out hearts on small cake boards or flattened cupcake liners.
- Carefully saw each heart in half to make two cake layers. Spread 1 Tablespoon of strawberry or raspberry compote on each bottom cake layer, then top the cakes with the top heart cake layer.
- Frost the top of the mini heart cakes with vanilla buttercream using a star or dot tip.
- Let them set up in the fridge, but remove from the fridge 2-3 hours before serving so they can come back to room temperature. These mini heart cakes will stay very moist if kept in an airtight container, but they have the best texture at room temperature. Eat within 3 days or freeze. Enjoy!
