Of course I had to make a Valentine's Day cake. This one's a classic for my chocolate lover – chocolate sponge with vanilla bean American buttercream.

This cake is gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free and artificial color free. The vegan buttercream colored in shades of pink Supernatural's pomegranate and some beetroot powder.

Despite any imperfections this is my favorite cake to date because I finally cracked getting a good gluten and dairy free sponge. The batter was light and lofty, the cake rise was bananas, and in the end it was moist and had a nice crumb (despite a few air bubbles easily avoided by giving your batter a final mix with a spatula to work them out before filling your pans). For those who don't usually bake this way, trust, this is a minor miracle. It was especially delicious with coffee.

The knife is my new favorite cake cutting knife – Nakano’s Chef’s Knife. The wood grain pattern on the handle and blade is so beautiful it’s its own serving piece and it doesn’t feel like you need to hurry up and put it away after use. Want one of your own? Use code SHAWNA for 10% off here.

Happy Valentine's, Galentine's, Palentine's, Pupentine's and whatever other love you might be celebrating this week.

Want to make this cake yourself? Here’s my recipe and method. If you try it at home, let me know how it goes!