There is no reason NOT to treat your loved ones on Valentine’s Day — when you can bake a stunning, delicious cake this easily! Just follow the instructions and be ready to get compliments for your baking skills!

This cake bursts with the floral flavor of real, juicy raspberries. Sweet, pink mascarpone frosting crowns this melt-in-your mouth indulgence. Last but not least, the golden luster makes the cake perfect for special occasions with those special people of your life.

But let’s get started.

For the cake, you need a heart-shaped cake pan. I use silicone pan for easy removal, but feel free to use a heart-shaped spring-form pan or regular pan.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients for the cake and for the frosting:

For the cake

1 stick (4 oz) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup frozen raspberries

For the frosting

1/4 cup raspberry preserves
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
red food coloring
metallic food coloring spray

Instructions

First, preheat your oven to 350 F.

Grease and flour a heart-shaped cake pan.

Cream 1 stick (4 oz) softened butter and 1 cup sugar…

…until pale.

Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beating well after each addition is super-important, as the eggs make the dough separate easily if you don’t beat it well.

After adding all the eggs and beating well, it looks nicely fluffy.

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Add also 1 cup flour…

…and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder.

Beat…

…until well combined.

Fold in 2/3 cup frozen raspberries.

Don’t beat! Just mix gently with a rubber spatula until well combined.

Like this.

Transfer the dough into the prepared cake pan.

Level the surface.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Spread 1/4 cup raspberry preserves on the hot cake — also on the sides of the cake. There’s a reason to spread the raspberry preserves on the hot cake rather than on a cooled cake: the hot cake sucks up the preserves, making the cake moist and tasty!

Let cool completely before frosting. You can place the cake in the fridge overnight.

Frosting the cake

To frost, take 8 oz mascarpone cheese…

…and 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

Beat until well combined.

Add red food coloring until the color is to your liking. I use red icing color here. You need only a very little, and as it’s a thick paste, it doesn’t make the frosting runny.

Beat until fluffy.

Frost the cake with the mascarpone frosting.

Here we go.

Decorate the cake with fresh raspberries. Now, you can serve the cake like this (it just looks adorable and SO appropriate for Valentine’s Day, doesn’t it!)…

…but I prefer to spray the cake with golden, metallic food coloring spray for gorgeous luster. Instead of metallic food spray, you can sift powdered sugar on the cake. The powdered sugar looks marvelous on the raspberries, just like snow!

Believe me, people will rave about your cake long after.

Happy baking!