Heart Shaped Chocolate & Cherries & Cream Cake

Every year I pick a cake to make for Valentine's Day, this one is from Taste Of Home and is beautiful. Cake is baked in two 9 inch heart shaped pans, I found them in regular pans and disposable tin pans. My cake took longer to cook about 30 minutes. Also this is a very sweet cake. I used two cans of cherry pie filling (not all of both) and for the topping on top I tried to just get the cherries with just a little of the juice.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• Cake

• 1⁄2 cup butter, softened no substitutions
• 2  cups sugar
• 2  eggs
• 1  teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2  cups flour
• 3  tablespoons  baking cocoa, plus
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons  baking cocoa
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 cup buttermilk
• 1  cup water
• 1⁄2 cup  vegetable oil

• Filling

• 16  ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2⁄3 cup sugar
• 1⁄4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  almond extract
• 1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling, divided

Directions

1. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar.
2. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.
3. Beat in vanilla.
4. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda.
5. Add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk.
6. Then beat in water and oil until smooth.
7. Pour into two greased and floured 9 inch heart shaped baking pans.
8. You can also line the pans with parchment paper and grease and flour that as well.
9. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester inserted near center of cakes comes out clean.
10. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
11. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.
12. Beat in cream and extract.
13. Place one cake on serving dish; spread with half of cream cheese mixture.
14. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
15. Top with 1 cup pie filling and second cake; spread with remaining cream cheese mixture.
16. Make a heart shape indentation in center of cake (can use a knife to trace a heart shape); fill with remaining pie filling.
17. Refrigerate until serving.