This week on ShawnsPlate has been all about valentine sweets.  What better way to finish it out than with my favorite valentine inspired dessert?! The Heart Shaped Box, in my opinion, is the ultimate Valentine's Day cake.

I know, folks are always proclaiming "ultimate" on things.  I promise, this dessert does deliver.  Just look at it...a heart shaped chocolate box with strawberries spilling out from under it's marbleized lid.  When you thought it couldn't get any better, cut it to reveal a luscious cheesecake!

Back in my days of wedding cakes and specialty desserts, this was one of my most requested cakes. You haven't seen anything until you see it stacked 3-5 tiers, presented as a groom's cake or made using 3-inch molds to create tiny cakes!

While I wish that I could take credit for this lovely thing, I fell in love with it's look after seeing it on the cover of the February 1990 issue of Bon Appetit.  Although I often prepare this as a cheesecake, cheesecake brownie, or chocolate pound cake base, in the magazine, it was prepared with a white cake as the base.