How Make a Heart-Shaped Cake (Square & Circle Method)

Heart-shaped desserts are fun to make for girls' birthday parties, bake sales, or Valentine's Day. If you want to make a heart-shaped cake, but you don't have any heart pans, you can still make a perfectly symmetric heart using a square and circle with the same dimensions. (To make a heart out of a single shape, see the companion article How to Make a Heart-Shaped Cake Using an Oval.)

Step 1:

Bake a square cake and circular cake in pans of the same dimension. For example, if you have an 8" square pan, you must also use a circular pan with a diameter of 8".

Step 2:

Cut the circular cake in half along its diameter. Try to make the cut as straight and accurate as possible. For a tip on how to find the exact center and diameter of a circle, see this reference.

Step 3:

Assemble the heart by placing the two semi-circular cakes flush with two adjacent sides of the square cake. Use frosting as an adhesive to keep the cake together.

Cake Dimensions:

Viewed at an angle, the finished heart-shaped cake measures 12" by 12" if you use two 8" pans. (If you use two 9" pans, the angle-view dimensions are 13.5" by 13.5".)

Viewed straight on, the total width is about 13.7" and the total height 12.5" when using 8" pans. (For 9" pans, the equivalent dimensions are 15.4" by 14.1".)

© Had2Know 2010