5 Ways to Make Heart-Shaped Desserts Without a Cookie Cutter

How to Make a Heart-Shaped Cake

A heart-shaped cake is easier to make than you might think. Simply divide your cake batter between one round pan and one square one. When the cakes are cool, cut the round cake in half. Turn the square cake so it looks like a diamond and set the half-rounds on the two top sides. Voilà!

How to Make Heart-Shaped Cupcakes

You don’t need a special tin to make heart-shaped cupcakes or muffins for Valentine’s Day. Simply place cupcake liners inside a regular tin, then stick a marble or ball of foil between each liner and the tin. This will create a V-shape for the top of the heart. Pour enough batter to fill the liners only slightly more than halfway. (Don’t pour too much, or the heart shapes won’t come through!) Bake as directed, and decorate as you like.

Heart-Shaped Toppers

Once Christmas is over, snag a bag of tiny candy canes that are on sale and use them for these heart-shaped cupcake toppers. Flip one cane over and place them together (“hooks” and bottom edges touching). Bake on a non-stick baking sheet at 325°F for three to five minutes. Pinch together to sear, then cool and remove with a spatula. If you’re feeling especially industrious, you can even use lollipop sticks and white chocolate to make these heart-shaped pops.

DIY Heart Stencil

For a Valentine’s Day touch on a baked treat, create a sweet heart shape with powdered sugar. Fold a sheet of paper in half, and trace one half of a heart shape along the fold. Cut it out and open the paper heart; there’s your stencil. Place it on a piece of toast, a cake, or cookies, sprinkle powdered sugar inside it, then lift—a powdered-sugar heart for your sweetheart!

Making Heart-Shaped Cookies without a Cookie Cutter

You don’t need a cookie-cutter to make heart-shaped cookies. First, make a round “log” out of your cookie dough, as wide as you want your cookies. Place in a resealable plastic bag and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Once it’s hard, you can cut a V-shape into the top and bottom to make a heart-shaped log, then simply slice off cookies in the thickness you want and bake!

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