Day 31: Hidden Heart Cake (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I recently purchased about a dozen cake mixes on sale, and decided I needed to start baking today -- and I love how this heart cake turned out!  I followed the website instructions exactly, and think this would be a perfect Valentine's Day dessert!

Cake Ingredients:

2 boxes Pound Cake mix

1/2 cup Butter softened
4 Eggs
1-1/3 cup Milk
Red food coloring

Glaze Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar2 tbsp Milk

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 and spray loaf pan with cooking spray.
• Prepare your first pound cake following box directions. Add food coloring to get a good pink color in batter.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes, which is about 10 less than box directions (I actually used two smaller pans, so I cooked mine for about 33 minutes.  Part of my cakes were a little undercooked, so the next time I make this, I'm going to cook it for the full amount stated on the box).

• Let cool on rack for an hour.
• Remove cake from pan and refrigerate for several hours.
• Slice cold cake into slices no thicker than your cookie cutter.
• Use cookie cutter to cut heart shapes from each and stack to side.
• Prepare the other box of pound cake mix following box directions.
• Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.
• Pour 1/4″ of batter in the bottom.
• Place your heart cut-outs down the middle, keeping them straight and together.

• Pour remaining batter over the heart cut-outs in the pan. Ensure it gets down the sides and covers the top (There will be a lot of batter left -- unless you make this in two smaller cake pans like I did, and then there won't be much at all leftover).
• Bake according to box directions.
• Let cool on rack for an hour.
• Remove from pan and place on platter.
• In a medium bowl, put powdered sugar and slowly add milk until desired consistency is reached.
• Drizzle icing over cake and serve.

Verdict: This is a little time consuming, but well worth it for the cuteness factor!  Plus, I'm going to try this with the modifications for making a boxed cake taste like a bakery cake the next time I do it, and I know it will taste so much better!