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    Home / Desserts / Cakes

    Raspberry Heart Cake

    Last update: Feb 26, 2025 Published: Jan 20, 2025 by Fadela This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·Leave a Review

    This raspberry pink heart cake is the ultimate treat for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion! With its vintage-inspired charm, fruity flavor, and pretty pink glaze, it’s as delicious as it is adorable.

    raspberry pink heart vintage cake on a table
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients You Need
    • How To Make A Raspberry Heart Cake
    • Tips for this recipe
    • Variations & Substitutions
    • Raspberry Heart Cake

    This raspberry heart cake is perfect for special occasions like Valentine’s Day or a girly birthday or baby showers, a wedding cake or bridal showers . With its adorable heart shape and fruity flavors, it’s always a showstopper while being surprisingly easy to make.

    It’s the ultimate treat for raspberry lovers! Made with a moist raspberry cake layers, a homemade raspberry cake filling, a light mascarpone raspberry frosting, and my whipped fresh raspberry buttercream.

    You’ll fall in love with its sweet and tangy flavors and its vintage-inspired pink design! A delicious and elegant layer cake that’s sure to impress everyone!

    Ingredients You Need

    Here’s what you need to make this heart-shaped layer cake:

    • Raspberry Sponge Cake: My white cake made with egg whites and flavored with homemade raspberry purée.
    • Raspberry Mascarpone Frosting: Made with mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and raspberry purée.
    • Homemade Raspberry Compote: Prepared with fresh or frozen raspberries and a little powdered sugar.
    • Raspberry Buttercream: My American-style buttercream made with softened butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, raspberry purée, and a touch of pink food coloring.
    bowls with ingredients

    How To Make A Raspberry Heart Cake

    Here are some quick visual instructions. Don’t forget, the full instructions with exact ingredients are in the main recipe card below!

    In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the softened butter and sugar together. Add the egg whites and vanilla extract, then whisk again until fully combined.

    large mixing bowl with butter and sugar
    large bowl with egg white and vanilla extract

    Add the raspberry purée and mix with the beater until the mixture turns pink.

    Next, add the sifted dry ingredients—flour, baking powder, and salt—alternating with the milk in several additions. Mix until the batter is smooth and well combined.

    mixing bowl with cake batter and raspberry mixture
    mixing bowl with pink cake batter and flour mixture

    Divide the cake batter into 3 portions and pour into your greased and lined heart-shaped cake pans. Bake in a preheated oven at 165°C (325°F) for about 25 minutes.

    Let the heart-shaped sponges cool completely on a wire rack.

    heart shaped cake pan with pink cake batter
    baked pink heart cake layers

    Place the first layer of raspberry cake on a cake board over a cake turntable and pipe a border of raspberry buttercream around the edge. Fill the center with a layer of raspberry frosting followed by raspberry filling.

    Add the second layer of cake and repeat the process until the final layer of cake. Cover the entire cake with raspberry buttercream to make a crumb coat than an other layer and smooth it out using a frosting scraper.

    cake board with pink cake layer with raspberry filling
    raspberry layer cake

    Decorate the heart-shaped cake with the remaining raspberry buttercream using a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe large shell border (shell border or ruffles) along the top of cake and bottom edges of the cake.

    finished pink vintagea cake on. a table

    Tips for this recipe

    • Let the sponges cool completely: To prevent the cake from collapsing and ensure stability, the sponges should be fully cooled or even chilled.
    • Prepare in advance: Make all the recipes the day before for better organization the next day.
    • Use raspberry purée: Avoid raspberry coulis, as it's too liquid and may alter the texture of the preparations.
    • Bring the cake to room temperature: Take the cake out of the fridge about 30 minutes before serving to soften the buttercream.
    sliced pink cake

    Variations & Substitutions

    • Strawberry Heart Cake: Replace the raspberry purée with strawberry puree in all the components for a strawberry version.
    • Chocolate-Raspberry: Just like my chocolate raspberry ganache cake, combine the flavors with a chocolate buttermilk cake or swap the raspberry frosting for a chocolate ganache.
    • Lemon-Raspberry: Replace the raspberry compote with lemon curd or use a lemon mascarpone frosting instead.

    You will also love

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    • Chocolate Ganache Layer Cake
    • Strawberry Lemonade Cake
    sliced raspberry cake on a plate

    I hope you enjoyed this recipe for a pink vintage heart-shaped cake! Feel free to rate it and leave a comment to share your thoughts. Happy baking!

    Print
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    Raspberry Heart Cake


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    • Author: Fadela
    • Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
    • Yield: 8 slices
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Pink heart raspberry cake made with a moist raspberry cake, homemade raspberry compote, raspberry mascarpone frosting, and pink raspberry buttercream (for a 6-inch cake - serves 8).


    Ingredients

    Raspberry Cakes

    • 169 g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, very soft
    • 250 g (1 ¼ cups) granulated white sugar
    • 2 tsp vanilla extract
    • 165 g (5 large) egg whites, at room temperature
    • 65 g (¼ cup) raspberry purée
    • 170 g (1 ⅓ cups) cake flour
    • 1 tsp (6 g) baking powder
    • ½ tsp (3 g) baking soda
    • 180 g (¾ cup) buttermilk
    • Pink or red food coloring

    Homemade Raspberry Compote

    • 400 g (3 cups) fresh or frozen raspberries

    Raspberry Mascarpone Frosting

    • 100 g (½ cup) cold mascarpone
    • 88 ml (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) cold heavy cream
    • 25 g (2 tbsp) raspberry purée
    • 2 tbsp powdered sugar
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract

    Raspberry Buttercream


    Instructions

    Raspberry Compote

    1. Place the fresh or frozen raspberries in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until you get a thick raspberry compote.
    2. Reserve about 80 g (⅓ cup) of the compote for filling the layer cake.
    3. Blend the remaining compote with an immersion blender or a regular blender, then strain it through a fine sieve to get a smooth, seedless purée. Let it cool completely.

    Raspberry Cake Layers

    1. Preheat your oven to 165°C (325°F). Grease a heart cake pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.
    2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the softened butter and sugar for 3 minutes until creamy and smooth.
    3. Add the egg whites and vanilla extract, and beat for at least 5 minutes until the mixture is fluffy and volumized.
    4. Incorporate the cooled raspberry purée and mix until the batter is uniform.
    5. Gradually and alternately fold in the sifted dry ingredients— cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt—and the buttermilk.
    6. Gently mix with a spatula until you get a smooth pink batter. (Add a touch of pink or red food coloring if you want a more vibrant cake.)
    7. Weigh the cake batter and divide it into 3 portions (bake in 3 separate batches using the same pan). Pour one portion into the prepared heart cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes without opening the door.
    8. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center; it should come out clean.
    9. Run a knife gently around the edges of the cake to help release it from the pan, then let the cake cool upside down on a wire rack. (Once cooled, use a knife to carefully trim the crust if you want.)

    Raspberry Buttercream

    1. Prepare the raspberry buttercream according to the recipe and let it to room temperature before assembling the cake. Transfer the buttercream into a large piping bag.

    Raspberry Mascarpone Frosting

    1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients: cold mascarpone, cold heavy cream, cold raspberry purée, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
    2. Whip with an electric mixer on low speed for 1–2 minutes until the frosting is smooth and firm.
    3. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and keep it refrigerated.

    Assembling the Layer Cake

    1. Place one cake layer on a cake board, then set it on a cake turntable.
    2. Pipe a border of raspberry buttercream around the edges of the heart-shaped sponge.
    3. Fill the center with a layer of raspberry mascarpone frosting, followed by raspberry compote.
    4. Add the second cake layer and repeat the process with the final layer.
    5. Coat the entire cake with a thin layer of raspberry buttercream (crumb coat) and smooth it with an offset spatula to seal in the crumbs.
    6. Apply a second, thicker layer of buttercream and smooth it with a metal icing scraper.
    7. Transfer the remaining buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip.
    8. Pipe a shell border along the top edge of the cake. Use the same tip to create another border along the bottom edge, then switch to a smaller star tip to pipe a second border for a vintage effect. (Add more pink food coloring to create contrasting shades for the borders if desired.)
    9. Refrigerate the heart cake until ready to serve or enjoy immediately.

    Equipment

    Airtight container

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    Angled Spatula

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    Image of Cake decorating turntable

    Cake decorating turntable

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    Food processor

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    Hand mixer

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    Heart cake pan

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    Image of Immersion blender

    Immersion blender

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    Piping bag

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    Stand mixer

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    Notes

    Storage: Keep the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

    Tips:

     

    • Always use a digital kitchen scale instead of measuring cups for the best accuracy and results.
    • Let the raspberry purée cool completely before using it in your preparations.
    • Ensure the sponge cakes are fully cooled before assembling. You can place them in the fridge to speed up the cooling process and make assembly easier.
    • Microwave a small portion of buttercream for a few seconds and mix it back into the rest to make the buttercream smoother.
    • Pipe a thick border of buttercream to fully seal the raspberry compote in the center and prevent it from leaking out.
    • Don’t skip the crumb coat—it helps trap crumbs and ensures a clean, smooth finish.
    • After chilling, take the layer cake out of the fridge 20 minutes before serving to soften the buttercream for easier slicing.
    • Prep Time: 2 hours
    • Cook Time: 80 minutes
    • Category: cake, dessert
    • Cuisine: American

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    Hello and welcome to my blog! Fully addicted to cakes, blogging, and beautiful pictures! I share with you on this blog some tips and my favorite baking recipes which I hope will help you to enjoy your loved ones!

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