Heart cake

Method

1. To make the vanilla sponge cake, preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease two 20cm/8in cake tins with cake release spray.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients along with a pinch of salt. Beat in the butter until it is incorporated and the mixture appears to be evenly coated and looks like a fine crumble mix – using a stand mixer, this will take around 2–3 minutes on a medium speed.

3. Add the eggs and beat, first on medium then on high speed, just until incorporated.

4. Add the milk and vanilla and beat, first on medium and then on high speed, for 2–3 minutes until the mixture is smooth and combined; it will appear a bit lighter in colour.

5. Divide the mixture between the two prepared cake tins and level out to the edges. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

6. To make the Swiss meringue buttercream, place a metal or glass bowl over a saucepan with 2.5cm/1in of boiling water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Add the egg whites and sugar, then whisk to combine. Leave over a medium heat for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. It’s done when it’s no longer grainy to the touch – you can rub some between your thumb and forefinger to check.

7. Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer and whisk, starting on low and then leaving on a high speed. Whisk until you have stiff peaks.

8. Add the soft butter – you can put this in all at once. Whisk until all combined evenly and you have a fluffy buttercream. It might start to look like scrambled eggs and split. Ignore this and keep whisking!

9. If you want to use gel food colouring, add it now. To decorate as the photo, set aside a small amount of white buttercream in a bowl. Place another small amount in a separate bowl and colour it dark coral. For the remaining buttercream, colour it light coral. Beat on a low speed right before using to knock out any air bubbles for extra smooth icing.

10. To assemble the cake, stack with buttercream (add a filling if you like!) and add a thin layer of buttercream to the outside to serve as a 'crumb coat'. Chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

11. Mark your cake by scoring into quarters, then use a sharp knife to trim away the round edges between the score marks on the bottom two quarters of your cake. Attach these to either side of the top two quarters to make a heart shape. Add some extra buttercream to stick and neaten up the shape as needed and put back in the fridge to set well – about 15–20 minutes should be plenty.

12. Ice your cake with a final coat of light coral buttercream. For a smooth finish, set the cake on a turntable and use a cake scraper to sweep away the excess buttercream from the sides.

13. To pipe the ruffles as in the photo, keep your cake on a turntable and place the dark coral buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a small ruffle piping nozzle (no. 050). Using a light pressure, place the tip close to, but not directly on, the bottom of the cake at a 45-degree upwards angle and gently squeeze. Move the turntable, keeping your piping hand in the same place, to ensure consistency. Add a second layer of ruffles, then repeat at the top of the cake.

14. To pipe the shell border, place the white buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a shell nozzle. Placing your piping bag at the side of the cake, but not touching, and apply a very gentle pressure while slightly pulling up and let the icing expand your shell like filling a balloon, then stop squeezing and pull away – this forms the tail of your shell. Use the turntable to move the cake, keeping your piping hand in the same place, and repeat until you’ve completed the border. Add another shell border at the top of the cake. To finish, top with cocktail cherries.