1. Grease bottoms of two heart-shaped layer cake pans or two 9-inch layer cake pans; line with wax paper and grease paper.
2. Sift cake flour, 1 cup of the sugar, baking powder and salt into large bowl of electric mixer.
3. Beat egg whites until foamy-white and double in volume in small bowl of mixer at high speed. Sprinkle in remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating all the time, until meringue forms soft peaks. ',
4. Blend vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of the milk into flour mixture, then beat 2 minutes with mixer at medium : speed. Stir in egg yolks, remaining 1/2 cup milk, vanilla, and almond extract beat 1 minute at medium speed.
5. Fold in meringue with wire whip until no streaks of white remain. Pour into prepared pans.
6. Bake in moderate oven (350°) 35 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly pressed with fingertip
7. Cool in pans on wire racks 5 minutes. Loosen around edges with knife and turn out onto racks; peel off paper; cool completely.
8. Make sweetheart frosting. Measure 1/2 cup frosting into a small bowl; tint pale green with green food coloring. Reserve another 1/2 cup frosting. Tint remaining frosting pale pink with red food coloring.
9. Put layers together with pink sweetheart frosting. Frost sides and top of cake, spreading frosting with spatula as smoothly as possible. (Dip spatula into a cup of hot water often while frosting cake.)
10. Reserve 1/4 cup pink frosting. Tint remaining pink frosting a deeper pink with more red food coloring. Fit #21 star tip onto pastry bag; press out frosting in overlapping design around entire bottom of cake.
11. Fit #7 writing tip onto second pastry bag; fill with reserved white sweetheart frosting; print "Be My Valentine" on top of cake, following directions on page 67.
12. Fit #96 drop flower tip onto pastry bag with deep pink frosting; make drop flowers on cake, as photographed on page 70, following directions on page 66.
13. Fit #14 star tip onto pastry bag with white frosting; press a tiny center into each drop flower. Then make white flowers, as photographed on page 70. Clean #14 tip and place on pastry bag filled with remaining pink frosting. Press tiny centers into white flowers.
14. Fit #7 writing tip onto bag filled with green frosting. Make scroll as pictured on page 70. Then make stems for flower spray, following directions on page 67.
15. Fit the #67 leaf tip onto pastry bag; pipe leaves, following picture.