These 10 viral Valentine's Day cakes have exploded on social media because they're unique, delicious, easy and fun!
Let's start with this cake that has almost 12 million views on Instagram, for a cake! It's a simple design made with a triangle cut out of parchment paper as a stencil for a cone, scored with the edge of a cake comb to make grid marks, with marbled pink buttercream scooped on top.
Don't you love the fun Valentine's Day pun?! To write it I used Sweet Stamp letters. These have the best results on buttercream that's firm but not too cold. I put the cake into the fridge for an hour but then let it sit out at room temperature for another hour. This way the buttercream softens just enough for the perfect imprint of the letters.
Press the letters one by one into the cake and then paint the letters with edible gold paint. You can buy this or make it yourself using vodka or clear vanilla extract mixed with edible gold luster dust. This number one of these viral Valentine's Day cakes is so eye-catching and fun!
This next cake with over a million views is such a unique way to make a floral cake. Pipe rosettes and then put the cake in the freezer for 30 minutes before its transformation. When the roses are firm, scrape around the cake with a warm metal cake comb. The warmth will melt the piping sticking out and then drag it to fill in the gaps in the piping. You'll create a flat design that looks like it's been printed onto the cake. I call it 'facelift frosting'. The key here is to use at least two colours of buttercream. I used two shades of pink and the variation is what creates the details in the design.
The next of these viral Valentine's Day cakes is for chocolate lovers. Spoon melted chocolate into a ziplock bag and cut a small piece off one corner to make a hole. Squeeze the chocolate through the hole onto a piece of parchment or wax paper. The paper needs to be wide enough to wrap around your cake and a little bit taller. Lift the paper up and wrap it around your frosted cake. Chill in the fridge to set the chocolate and then peel off the paper. You'll leave the chocolate design behind on the cake. Run a knife under hot water before slicing for the neatest results. This cake is so decadent!
Filmed back in 2020 so please excuse the video quality of my iPhone 8! This cake was spotted by Wilton and featured on their page. The frosted cake has been in the fridge for about an hour before this so that it's firm. This is important, otherwise the frosting can droop with the weight of the rainbow piping.
I'm using a #104 petal piping tip to make lines that create a heart shape. Hold the tip with the wide part pressed against the cake and the narrow end pointing outwards. By scoring the heart shape onto the cake with a toothpick first, it's easy to start and stop each line in the right place. This means the final shape is easily recognizable.
An optional finishing touch is to place edible gold leaf around the edges of the piped heart. Do this after chilling the cake so you don't mess it up if you knock it by mistake.
If you're celebrating as a couple you can make viral Valentine's Day cakes for two like this. Bake a cake using whatever pan you have. I used my Perfect Chocolate Cake recipe. Cut out hearts with a cookie cutter which will be the layers of your cake. To make a naked heart-shaped cake, pipe swirls as the filling between the layers. Or to frost the cake, put it in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up first. This mini heart cake is the perfect size for a couple to share!
Another shortcut to make a mini cake is with cupcakes. Cut them in half and then layer them using buttercream to stick the bottom layer down onto the cake board. This will hold the cake still as you frost it. Just like with the cookie cutter layers, chilling this cupcake cake in the freezer for 15 minutes will make it much easier to frost. I have a very detailed tutorial on making mini cakes for Valentine's Day for more details!
This cake is maybe the easiest cake in the world to make. Tint a few colours of buttercream and then bake and decorate the cake in the same dish. There's no need to layer the cake or to frost the sides, which are the time consuming parts! Put the coloured buttercream into piping bags with any piping tips. Pipe randomly onto the cake or create a heart, outlining it with a toothpick first as a piping guide. And serving this cake is just as easy as baking and decorating it! Just pick up the dish and take it wherever you're going. Then serve the cake right there in the dish!
Here's another one of my easy viral Valentine's Day cakes. Tint spoonfuls of different coloured buttercream and then spread them over a heart-shaped stencil. When you peel the stencil off you'll have a gorgeous rainbow heart cake! To make the double stencil like mine, cut a heart out of parchment or wax paper to make your first stencil. Layer this over any patterned stencil to create a pattern within the heart shape. To use the stencil on a cake you'll need to hold it in place with one of these methods. The first option is to tape the two stencils together around a cake. This can be tricky because tape doesn't stick well to parchment or wax paper. The other option is to push pins through the corners of the stencils into the cake.
If you're traveling for Valentine's Day, make a cake before you go and take it with you. Bake the layers, make the filling and assemble the cake at home. Then wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it for at least an hour or for a few days. Make buttercream to frost the cake and freeze that in a big ziploc bag, pressing it flat.
Just before you travel, take the cake and frosting out of the freezer. Put them into a cooler with an ice pack and then put this into your suitcase. The cake and frosting will thaw gradually while you travel so that when you arrive, they're ready to use. Squeeze the buttercream out of the bag and use it to frost the cake. Instead of traveling with a turntable, use a plate and one of these 7 frosting techniques that don't require smooth frosting!
The last of these viral Valentine's Day cakes is another oldie but goodie from 2020. By covering a cake with two layers of frosting you can carve out colourful shapes and patterns! Chill the cake in the fridge after the first layer of frosting for at least an hour. Then spread on the next layer and it won't mix with the first layer. Chill again and then use clay modeling tools to carve out a heart or any shape you like. You'll scraping off the outer layer of frosting to reveal the colour or colours underneath.
I painted around the edge of my heart using edible gold paint to make it really pop. Carved buttercream cakes are very satisfying to make and they always get the best reaction!
So, which one of these viral Valentine's Day cakes are you going to make? Or which one would you like someone to make for you? Tell me in the comments and visit my cake school to learn hundreds of cake decorating techniques and designs!
You can also watch a video of this tutorial on viral Valentine's Day cakes on my YouTube channel next week!