Surprise-Inside Heart Cake

This was my first attempt at making a surprise-inside cake and I think it turned out okay.  I preface that by saying I'm a perfectionist so I'm always going to be my worst critic.  But while the cake does look pretty cool I would have liked the heart shape to come out with more distinct and sharp lines.  I'll save that for my second attempt I guess!

I was inspired to make this cake after seeing an Instagram video post by Baking With Blondie.  Between you and me I think I probably watched the video at least twenty times to learn how she put the cake together.  The cake was too cute not to try and replicate and Valentine's Day was the perfect occasion to practice.

For the cake I used Stella Parks's White Mountain Layer Cake and frosted it with her American Buttercream.  Normally I would use my favorite Swiss meringue buttercream but I'd been meaning to try her take on the American classic.  I baked the white cake layers using three 6-inch pans and for the pink cake filling I used a quarter sheet pan.

A bonus to making this surprise-inside cake was that it produced two additional treats using the leftover cake and icing.  I'll post them shortly so stay tuned!