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A soft and buttery sour cream chocolate chip loaf cake with a sweet pink heart hidden inside. This fun surprise cake looks impressive but is easier to make than you think, perfect for Valentine’s Day or special occasions.
I’ve been wanting to make one of those “hidden heart” cakes for YEARS. You know… the kind where you slice into the cake and suddenly there’s a perfect little heart inside and everyone goes, “Wait… HOW did you do that?!” I always thought it looked complicated or too fussy. But this year I finally gave in — and honestly? It’s way easier than it looks. The base is my favorite kind of cake too: a super moist, buttery sour cream pound cake loaded with mini chocolate chips. So even without the heart, it’s already delicious. The pink heart just makes it extra special (and extra cute). When I sliced the first piece, my family literally went “awww… how cool is that!” Totally worth the extra step.
Why You’ll Like This Recipe
The hidden heart surprise makes every slice fun and memorable
Soft, rich sour cream pound cake texture that stays moist for days
Chocolate chips make it extra indulgent but still simple
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, birthdays, or just because
Easier than it looks — no fancy decorating required
Ingredients and Substitutions
Unsalted butter – melted; you can use salted butter and reduce the salt slightly
Full-fat sour cream – whole-milk Greek yogurt works great too
Eggs – room temperature for better mixing
Vanilla extract – pure vanilla gives the best flavor
Salt – I use regular table salt. You can use fine sea salt too
Granulated sugar – you can use caster sugar too
Baking powder – I don’t recommend any substitution
Baking soda – I don’t recommend any substitution
All-purpose flour – I don’t recommend using cake flour for this recipe
Red food gel – or pink; gel works better than liquid coloring
Mini chocolate chips – regular chips or bars works too. Just cut into small chunks
What to Serve This With
Lightly sweetened whipped cream
Sour cream whipped cream for a tangy contrast
Fresh strawberries or raspberries
Hot coffee or milk tea
Vanilla ice cream for dessert mode
Storage & Reheating
Store wrapped tightly at room temperature for up to 3 days
Refrigerate for up to 5 days for longer freshness
Freeze slices individually for up to 2 months
Reheat slices in the microwave for 10–15 seconds for that fresh-baked feel
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bake both cakes on the same day? Yes, but spreading it over two days makes it feel much easier and less rushed.
Can I use a different shape? Absolutely. Stars, hearts, circles, or even letters all work.
Why did my heart shift or float? Make sure the hearts are packed tightly together and press them gently into the batter. There is still a chance that the hearts may float a bit higher than you imagine, and that’s normal
Can I skip the chocolate chips? Yes, you’ll still have a delicious vanilla sour cream pound cake.
Can I make this ahead of time for a party? Yes. It actually tastes better the next day, so it’s perfect for make-ahead baking.
This cake honestly makes me ridiculously happy every time I slice into it. It looks fancy, but it’s really just two simple loaf cakes and a cookie cutter. Nothing complicated — just a little extra love baked inside. If you’re baking for family, kids, or someone special, this one is guaranteed to get smiles. And sometimes that’s exactly the kind of recipe we need. If you try it, let me know what shape you hide inside — I’m already thinking stars for birthdays next 😊
I know it's a bit of a fuss that you have to prepare the cake separately and wait in between. You can even prepare the pink cake the day before and the chocolate chip cake the next day. Whatever works for your schedule
Prepare the pink cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven. For a convection oven, reduce the temperature by 20 F (15 C). Oil an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan and then line the long side of the pan with a parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches of excess on each side for easier removal later
Whisk sour cream, melted and cooled butter, eggs, vanilla extract, red food gel, sugar and salt until combined. Then whisk in the baking powder and baking soda until well combined.
Then add the flour and switch to a rubber spatula and fold until just combined and you don't see any dry pockets of flour. Don't overmix
Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top with a rubber sptaula. Bake in the middle rack for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. It's a rather short cake, about 1 1/2 inch in height only
Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, set on top of a cooling rack.
Then carefully loosen the edge with an offset spatula and grab the overhanging parchment paper and lift the cake onto a cooling rack to let it cool down completely. This may take about an hour or so. We don't want to slice into the cake when it's still warm as it will be crumbly and fall apart when you try to cut out the hearts
Another option to speed up the process is after lifting the cake out of the pan, let it cool down for about 10-15 minutes and then put it inside a freezer for about 30 minutes to speed up the cooling process.
Once it has cooled down completely, I use a serrated knife to slice the cake in half horizontally. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter, about 2 to 2 1/2 inch in diameter and cut out as many hearts as you can. You will need about 14-16 pieces of hearts. The rest of the cake can be your "snack" or use it to make cake pops, etc
Prepare the chocolate chip cake:
This can be done on the same day or the next day if you would rather spread out the work.
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven. For a convection oven, reduce the temperature by 20 F (15 C). Oil an 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and then line the long side of the pan with a parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches of excess on each side for easier removal later
Whisk sour cream, melted and cooled butter, eggs, vanilla extract, sugar and salt until combined. Then whisk in the baking powder and baking soda until well combined. Then add the flour and switch to a rubber spatula and fold until it is just about to be combined, add the chocolate chips
and continue to fold until you don't see any dry pockets of flour. Don't overmix
Scrape about 1/3 of the batter into the bottom of the pan.
Starting from one of the short ends of the loaf pan, nestle the heart into the batter. You can push it in a bit to make sure it stays put. Continue to line up the hearts along the length of the pan. Make sure the hearts are all snug together to minimize any "movement" during baking
Carefully scrape the rest of the batter into the pan, covering the hearts.
Smooth the top. Sprinkle with some turbinado sugar (it adds a nice texture and slight crunch)
Baking:
Put in the middle rack and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean with just a bit of moist crumb is okay, as long as it's not wet.
Cooling down:
Set the pan on a cooling rack and let the cake cool inside the pan completely. I actually let it sit inside the pan overnight (covered with cling wrap after it has cooled down completely) because the cake tastes so much better and more moist the next day
Slice the cake and enjoy your labor of love 🙂
Did you make this recipe?Let me know how you like this recipe and consider rating it! Tag me @whattocooktoday I’d love to see your photos/videos on Instagram
