Learning new cake decorating skills can be so much fun, especially if those skills don’t require a huge investment of time. I love a quirky cake shape, but I don’t love having a cupboard full of various pans that I only use once a year. That’s why it’s so handy to be able to make different shapes using the pans you already have. And, that’s where this buttermilk sweetheart cake comes in!

A clever trick of cutting and arranging transforms one round cake and one square cake into a big heart cake! Who doesn’t enjoy a good shortcut? And, this is a good trick to have on hand whether you bake a lot or you just want to make a cute cake once in a while.

For the cake part of this recipe we’re using a box cake mix but jazzing it up with some nice buttermilk. This little shortcut ensures that the cake tastes rich and has a wonderful texture. However, if you want to use your favorite homemade cake recipe instead of a mix then just replace the milk or liquid in the recipe with buttermilk to get a similar result from scratch.

To contrast with the creamy frosting in color I chose a strawberry cake, but you can use any flavor combination love here. The frosting does triple duty here as it adds flavor, decoration, and it hides the seams of where you join up the round parts of the heart to the square in the center.

Once frosted all over then you can decorate the top following the shape of the heart in red jelly candies. You can use other candies here, but the contrast between the red cherry hearts and the white frosting is so pleasing to the eye.

You’ll need a large tray or cutting board for this cake. If you don’t have one of those you can cover a strong rectangle of cardboard in foil to create a custom cake board.

The center of this charming cake is filled with coconut for a little extra flavor and texture. If you don’t love coconut I could see sprinkles, candy pearls, or another type of jelly candy in the middle, too.

For really special presentation this buttermilk sweetheart cake is lovely way to create a stunning treat for all the special someones in your life.