Okay - to all my scratch cake purists! Just skip this section and move on to the recipe card! 😉
A time-saver option here - these cake layers can be made from scratch OR doctored-up mixes!
If you’d rather use cake mixes, I recommend two red velvet mixes. Substitute 1 cup of melted butter for the oil, replace the water with buttermilk, and add two extra eggs! The cake layers will be a little less rich than a scratch recipe, but making the substitutions I mentioned work well enough I sometimes have trouble telling the difference.
Nerds Heart Cake
Two sections of a Nerds candy rope are all you need to decorate a fun and colorful Nerds Heart Cake - perfect for Valentine's Day!
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 786kcal
Equipment
- cake scraper or pastry cutter (optional; for smoothing frosting)
- large piping bag + star tip (linked is a set that contains both)
Ingredients
Red Velvet cake layers
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (or 2 sticks, room temperature)
- 1 cup egg whites (about 7 large egg whites, or use egg whites from a carton to avoid wasting the yolks)
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk (room temperature)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- Red gel food coloring (I used a few tablespoons of Americolor Super Red; you can use as much as you’d like to get the shade of red you prefer)
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (one package; softened)
- 1 cup butter (two sticks, softened)
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
- 1-2 small drops Pink gel food coloring (I used Americolor Electric Pink)
- 1-2 Tablespoons Red gel food coloring (save and add later; to color frosting to decorate)
Decorations
- 2 large Nerds Ropes (I used Cherry since they were the colors I wanted! They’re available online here if they’re not stocked in stores near you!)
- 1-2 Tablespoons Pink Sugar Pearl sprinkles
Instructions
Red Velvet cake layers
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8 inch round pans with baker's floured spray (or grease and line with parchment rounds).
- Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle until fully combined.
- Mix chunks of room-temperature butter slowly into the dry mix, on a low speed. Continue to mix until no large chunks of butter remain, and the mixture becomes crumbly.
- Pour in egg whites, and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the buttermilk on a low speed. Add in vanilla, oil, and gel food coloring, and mix at a low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat on medium high for about 30 seconds.
- Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part). This guarantees your layers will bake to be the same height.
- Bake for 34-37 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired. (This is a great time to make your frosting!)
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add vanilla and salt if needed and beat until well combined.
Assembly
- Once your cakes are cool, level them (if needed). This can be done with a cake leveler or a large serrated knife and a ruler. Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle.
- Spread the layer with frosting, and add the next layer on top. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.
- Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer. I usually do this with my large offset spatula.
- Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layer of frosting and smooth. Don’t go too crazy here – you’ll add texture to the sides in a minute anyway! Once your cake is covered, clean your large offset spatula and start to work your way around the cake, pressing lightly into the frosting to create a series of indents in the frosting. I found working my way around an initial time to create each line and then going back over the lines with a warmed spatula (I’ve used hot water before, but this time I cheated and used a brulee torch) gave me a smoother look to the frosting!
Decorating
- I cut my Nerds ropes down a bit to get the size that I wanted, but if you want a larger or wider heart you could use the entire thing! Adding a half heart at a time, press the Nerds rope into the cake to form a heart on the front.
- To decorate the top of the cake, I added red gel color to the leftover pink frosting and transferred it to a piping bag. Working in a ‘braid’ pattern, I piped a decorative rim around the outside of the cake. You could also use swirls or a circular border; completely up to you!
- Add a few pink sugar pearls to the frosting rim and to the top of the cake – and you’re done!
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 786kcal | Carbohydrates: 102g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 38g
Mentioned in post -
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
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