You will need three nine-inch cakes with a three-inch rim for either cake. That means that you will need to make this recipe three times, as this recipe yields just one nine-inch cake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a nine-inch round cake pan with baking spray and set aside.

Beat sugar, salt, baking soda, vanilla sugar, eggs and egg yolk for one minute. Add orange juice and oil and beat to combine. Add flour and mix for two minutes. Mix in the cocoa and hot water and mix for another three minutes. Fill prepared pan with batter. Bake for an hour.

Repeat this process for each of the cake layers. Allow each cake to cool completely before frosting.

Beat margarine and shortening until creamy. Add rest of ingredients and beat for about two minutes. Keep refrigerated until using.

Spread a generous layer of frosting over the first cake. Place another cake on top. Repeat and then place a mound of frosting on the top layer.

Using a spatula, place globs of frosting around the perimeter of the layered cakes.

Using a cake smoother, smooth the frosting around the cake and on the top. At this point, you will see crumbs all over the frosting, and that’s okay! This part is just called crumb coating, forming the outer layer of frosting for the cake. Place in the freezer for at least 30-45 minutes before continuing with the directions for either cake.

Start by tinting about three cups of frosting in light pink. Spread light pink frosting all over the perimeter and top of the cake. Then use a cake smoother to smooth out the frosting on the top and sides of the cake.

Divide the remaining frosting between six bowls. Leave one of the bowls light pink and then tint the rest of the bowls in different shades of pink by using more or less drops of pink food coloring.

Using a ruler, divide the cake into six sections, using a toothpick to draw the line across the edge of the cake.

Fit a pastry bag with Wilton star tip 4B, or any star tip. Fill with the lightest shade of pink and start piping on the very top section that you set off. The line that you drew with a toothpick will serve as a guide for how big the hearts should be.

Start by piping a thick dot and releasing the bag to create a tip. Pipe another large dot right near it and release it, joining at the bottom to form a heart. You might want to practice on a plate before piping on the cake. Continue piping hearts around the top part of the cake until you meet where you began.

For the next layer, you will pipe hearts upside down. Follow the same steps above using a slightly darker shade of pink and pipe the hearts upside down to fill in the gaps between your first layer.

Keep repeating these steps until you have filled in all six sections.