If You Can Make a Sheet Cake, You Can Make This Valentine’s Heart Dessert

Bake up a Texas sheet cake for this Valentine’s dessert!

Everybody loves a good Texas sheet cake, right? But what about a Texas sheet cake cut into Valentine’s hearts!

Tami Steggell shares her recipe for Valentine cake hearts. It is a tasty way to show your love to anyone from ages 1 to 92.

For more recipes and ideas from Tami, be sure to follow her on Instagram at @bitemeindustries.

Texas Sheet Cake Valentine Hearts

INGREDIENTS

Texas Sheet Cake

• 1 cup butter 2 sticks (227g)
• 1 cup water (225ml)
• ½ c natural dutched blend cocoa powder (50g)
• 2 c unbleached all-purpose flour (250g)
• 1 3/4 cs sugar granulated (350g)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ c sour cream (112g)
• 2 large eggs (100g)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Strawberry Cream filling

• 2 c heavy whipping cream (480ml)
• ⅓ c strawberry or raspberry preserves

Ganache

• 1 lb bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (454g)
• 2 c heavy cream (480ml)

METHOD

To Make the Cake

1. Preheat oven:Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease a 10×15-inch sheet cake pan with butter, or cooking spray, or line with parchment.
2. Prepare the wet chocolate mixture:add the butter and water to a medium saucepan over medium heat, allow the two to melt together coming to a low boil. Add the ½ cup of the natural cocoa powder, stir with a wire whisk until fully smooth . Remove from heat, let cool.
3. In a large bowl combine the dry goods: flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together.
4. In another smaller bowl whisk together the other wet ingredients: sour cream, eggs and vanilla extract.
5. Combine both sets of wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, blend with a hand mixer until smooth, do not overmix. You may also whisk by hand, if so, add your dry goods in thirds between each stir.
6. Bake:Pour the cake batter in the prepared sheet cake pan and transfer to the oven. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Allow to cool.
7. Cut the Texas sheet cake with a heart shaped cookie cutter. Depending on the size of your cutter this will get you about 12 cuts or six 2-layer cakes per sheet.

To Make the Cream

1. Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks, add the strawberry or raspberry preserves and continue whipping until stiff peaks. Fill a pastry bag (or zip lock), snip a ½” off the corner and pipe the cream onto one of the heart shaped cakes.
2. Place a second cake on top of the cake that is garnished with the raspberry cream. Repeat until all caked are finished. Place cakes in refrigerator or freezer, covered, while preparing the ganache.

To Make the Ganache

1. Heat cream until just to simmer. Remove from heat. Dump in all of the chopped chocolate, swirl the pot to make sure the chocolate is completely covered by the cream. Let sit for 3 minutes, then gently whisk until smooth. Allow to cool slightly to thicken enough to cling to the cakes.
2. Place filled and chilled cakes on a cooling rack that is in a bake sheet to catch ganache drippings while pouring.
3. Slowly pour the ganache over the heart shaped cake, starting in the middle and working outward. Be sure to check all the sides as you go. There will be a lot pooled up on the parchment, you will scrape that up for re-use by gently rewarming the excess. Store any leftover in a sealed container for later.
4. If your ganache starts to get too thick, return the pot to the stove and heat on very low heat, just for a quick moment.
5. Allow your cakes to set at room temperature for about 20 minutes. If you refrigerate them for later use, they will lose their shine, however, once you return them to room temperature the shine will return. Garnish with freeze dried strawberries or raspberries ground into powder and dusted on top.

Pro Tips

Higher altitudes require more bake time, while lower altitudes require less bake time.