Easy Valentine’s Dessert

Valentine’s Day celebrations are low key in our home. I always make Hubs a Valentines dessert of some sort. This year I found some fun Valentine bracelets at the dollar store and decided to use them as a pretty cake topper. This chocolate cake with strawberry filling is a really easy to make cake for Valentine’s day. The candies make it easy to decorate as well.

If your Hubs is like my Hubs he enjoys homemade food much more than going out anywhere. If we were to go out its more for me, so any homemade food, or Valentine’s dessert unfortunately pleases him way more than dinner reservations. Oh how I wish.

Valentine’s this year is just the two of us. Sadly no munchkins are visiting. I decided to make our cake for Valentine’s day smaller around and taller than a regular sized cake. If you don’t have the small cake pans, or you have more guests, use regular round cake pans instead.

Valentine’s Dessert Ingredients

This Valentine’s dessert starts with a cake mix, but if you want to purchase a cake and just make the icing I am certain no one will know the difference.

Baking the Chocolate Valentine’s Cake

The cake in the images is made using two 6 inch spring form pans. Or like I said switch out for 2 regular 8 inch round cake pans.  If you happen to have heart shaped baking pans they would be fun as well.

Mix the chocolate cake mix according to the directions. Bake.

Bake, remove from the pans and let cool completely.  If your using the 6 inch pans, slice each cake in half, you will end up with a four layer cake.  If your using regular pans, you don’t need to split the cake layers

Strawberry Buttercream Icing

Its not the cake, or the sweet and juicy strawberries that make this Valentines dessert special. It’s the icing.  No colouring or extracts makes the difference, just lots of delicious strawberry flavour. This icing is spoon licking good.

Place 2 cups of butter into the mixer bowl.  Beat on high for three or four minutes until the butter is light and fluffy.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the icing sugar, 1 cup at a time. Once the icing sugar is incorporated turn the mixer onto high and whip for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the half cup of strawberry syrup, whip on high for another two minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

This recipe makes about five cups of smooth and fluffy soft pink strawberry icing. Next we will make the simple filling.

Strawberry Cake Filling

The cake filling is made with fresh strawberries for extra flavour and moistness. Wash, hull and cut a half pound of strawberries. You will have about two cups of sliced strawberries.

Place the cut strawberries in a bowl.  Add a cup of icing to the bowl.  Mix them together.

Ice the top of each cake layer with the strawberry and icing mixture.

Place the cakes on top of each other.  If your making the tall six inch cake I suggest placing a skewer in the middle to hold the cake steady.

Decorating the Cake for Valentine’s Day

Crumb Layer

Place 1 1/2 cup of icing on top of the cake and working downwards. Ice the cake with a thin crumb layer to seal in the cake crumbs.  This makes the cake much easier to decorate.

Place the cake in the fridge until the icing hardens. At least an hour.

Icing the Cake for Valentine’s Day

When the crumb layer is hard , place 1 1/2 cups of icing on the top of the cake. Apply the icing down the cake sides first, and then finish the top.  Once you’ve added a thick layer of icing, use a cake spatula to smooth the entire side of the cake.  This made my cake icing as  smooth as possible, but I didn’t fret about it too much.  The cake is Hubs, I just made it as smooth as my own skills allowed.

Decorating the Valentine’s Day Cake

You should have a cup of icing left.  Using an icing bag fit with a fit with a Wilton 21 tip,  make large swirls along the top of the cake.  To do this hold the icing bag straight up while you pipe the icing. If you have icing left make a shell edge along the bottom using the same tip.

If you don’t have a cake tip, place heaping teaspoons of icing along the top of your cake.  They are basically covered with the candy anyways.

Adding the Valentines Candy

I had two dollar store packages of valentines bracelets, the little love U hearts are perfect for a cake top.  I ended up using 10 of the bracelets.  Place the central valentine on top of the icing swirl, and place the bracelet portion in the middle.  Repeat all the way around.

To decorate the bottom of the chocolate strawberry cake I snipped the elastic from three bracelets and placed each little candy around the bottom of the cake.

Hubs is away at work, his one week turned into three.  So I sent him a picture of the cake, wrapped it in cellophane and popped it in the freezer until he gets home. The joy’s of working away from home.

Other Valentine’s Dessert Recipes