Pink Heart Shaped Cake

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease your heart shaped pan thoroughly with butter, then dust with flour.
2. In your mixer, combine 375g cake flour, 300g sugar, 12g baking powder, and 3g salt on low speed until just mixed. Add the 170g softened butter one chunk at a time until the mixture looks like coarse sand.
3. Whisk together 180ml egg whites, 120g Greek yogurt, 180ml whole milk, and 10ml vanilla bean paste in a separate bowl.
4. Slowly pour half of this into the flour mixture and beat on medium for 2 minutes until the batter looks pale and fluffy.
5. Add the remaining liquid in two stages, scraping the bowl often. Do not overmix here; we want to preserve those air bubbles we just fought for.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Let it cool in the pan for exactly 10 minutes before flipping it onto a wire rack.
7. Beat 450g of softened butter for 5 full minutes until it’s nearly white. Slowly add 500g of sifted powdered sugar and 20ml of hibiscus powder/tea. Whip until the frosting looks like a silky, pink cloud.
8. Once the cake is completely cold, apply a very thin layer of frosting over the entire heart. Refrigerate for 20 minutes until the frosting feels firm to the touch. This seals the crumbs so they don't ruin your final pink layer.
9. Fit your piping bag with a star tip and create S shapes along the bottom edge of the cake. Continue layering these ruffles upward until the sides are completely covered in pink waves.
10. Place the 60g of fresh cherries along the top border of the heart. Space them evenly — I usually go with 12 cherries so every slice gets one beautiful topper.