Chocolate Strawberry Cake
Chocolate Strawberry Cake was a new creation this summer using fresh strawberries from my own small crop of strawberries.
Chocolate Strawberry Inspiration
Last week, one of my dearest, sweet, and absolutely wonderful longtime friends was celebrating a birthday. Surprise that is… and chocolate and strawberry was the theme for this cake to-be. Which happen to be picked by her husband who was planning this big surprise!!! I love surprises, don’t you? Not only do I love them, but I love to be a part of them too! Yay!
I was absolutely delighted to make it for my special friend. I know she is a chocolate and strawberry lover all the way. We have shared many sweets together over coffee and tea and this was going to be fun to create for her.
The Cake
As I thought about how to bring these two flavor combinations together, I knew they had to have plenty of chocolate and strawberry balanced out. With that I came up with this idea for the cake:
- Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Ganache Filling
- Strawberry Cake
- Strawberry Cake Filling
- Chocolate Buttercream
Sounds divine, doesn’t it? I had it pictured so vividly in my mind and was anxious to create it as I could almost taste it just thinking of it!
Chocolate Cake
The chocolate cake recipe is delicious and light, not too sweet and a perfect color contrast to the strawberry. This amazing cake is a cross between my very favorite devil’s food cake and my chocolate whoopie pie recipe. My mouth is already watering just thinking of eating it!
Strawberry Cake
Yum, one of my favorite cakes to make and eat. Also, seems to be a big request lately from friends and family. This strawberry cake recipe is quite simple to make and gets just a touch of strawberry flavoring and pink color to bring it to the flavor and color I’m wanting.
The cake is super-duper light and so flavorful. Fresh strawberry puree is added to the recipe and creates a great taste and flavor.
Filling
Of course, with every great cake there must be great fillings, right? For this chocolate strawberry delight it must have the perfect accompaniments to show off the cake and really make it stand out. Compliment if you will…
- Chocolate Ganache (chocolate + cream)
- Strawberry Filling (strawberries, sugar + cornstarch and water slurry)
Chocolate Buttercream
To finalize this amazing Chocolate Strawberry Cake, a quick, simple, and easy chocolate buttercream brings it all together. I’ve been making this buttercream for so many years. It is a tried-and-true recipe and always loved by so many.
Decorations
When thinking how to decorate, I wanted it to be such a wow factor for my friend. She is a super special friend, person that blesses everyone she meets, including me all these years. Yep, I was going all out to make this beautiful and stunning just for her.
- Chocolate Rosettes
- Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Perfect for keeping with the Chocolate Strawberry theme.
The cake was a hit and she absolutely loved it, we all gobbled it down. Smiling as I looked around at the table and all 15 plates were totally clean, including mine 🙂 My sweet friend enjoyed it so much and it was a great evening of celebration!
A special cake for a very special and dear friend celebrated with lots of chocolate and strawberry!
Do you have a special cake you make for special people? Share in the comments below.
Check out some of my other favorite cakes:
PrintChocolate Strawberry Cake
Layers of chocolate and strawberry cake filled with chocolate ganache and strawberry filling for an amazing chocolate cake
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 15–20 servings 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Creaming
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
2 cups sugar
1 cup cake flour
1 1/3 cup All Purpose Flour
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coffee extract
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup hot coffee
Strawberry Cake
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp strawberry flavoring
1/4 cup milk
2–3 drops pink food coloring
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 TBS cake flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup strawberry puree or strawberry jam
Chocolate Ganache
5 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
5 ounces heavy cream
Strawberry Filling
6 ounces strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 TBS water
1 1/2 TBS cornstarch
Chocolate Buttercream
1/2 cup or 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3–4 TBS milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
Preheat oven to 350 and spray 2- 9″ round cake pans with cooking spray.
In a stand mixer bowl with the whisk attachment add in all the dry ingredients and whisk well.
Add in the extracts, eggs, buttermilk, and oil and mix till combined.
Slowly add in the hot coffee and mix well on medium low to combine all ingredients till fully mixed.
Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with rubber spatula to make sure all is combined.
Divide and pour the batter evenly in both of the round pans.
Bake 25-30 minutes till done.
Remove cakes and allow to cool 20 minutes before removing them from the pans to cool completely.
Strawberry Cake
Preheat oven to 350. Grease 1- 9″ round pan with cooking spray.
In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well.
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and cream till light and fluffy.
Add in the egg whites and mix well, add in the vanilla and strawberry extracts.
Add in half the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, then the rest of the flour and mix well.
Add in the strawberry puree or jam and mix till everything is thoroughly combined.
Add in the pink coloring till you reach the desired color of pink.
Pour batter into the cake pan, bake 25-30 minutes till done.
Remove cake from oven and allow to cool 20 minutes.
Remove cake from the pan and allow too fully cool.
Chocolate Ganache
Place the chocolate chips in a medium size bowl.
Place the cream in a 1 cup volume measuring pitcher. Microwave on high 30 seconds to 1 minute till really hot but not boiling over, should feel very hot to the touch.
Pour the hot cream over the top of the chocolate and allow to sit for 1 minute.
Whisk slowly the chocolate and cream together till smooth and creamy.
Place a piece of saran wrap on the top of the ganache to prevent film from forming.
Set aside to fully cool to room temperature or place in refrigerator till later, remove a few hours before using to sit at room temperature.
Strawberry Filling
In a medium saucepan, place the strawberries (if frozen thaw) and sugar.
Heat on medium and cook for about 5 minutes and gently mash strawberries as they cook, but not too much.
Whisk together the cornstarch and water till combined and add to the strawberry mixture.
Cook on a gentle boil for 2-3 minutes till mixture thickens.
Remove and pour into a bowl to cool, cover and refrigerate till ready to use.
Chocolate Buttercream
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the sugar, shortening, and butter till creamy and mixed together.
Add in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and milk.
Mix on low till combined, and then turn to medium high and mix for 1 minute.
Add in additional one TBS at a time if the icing seems stiff.
Assembly
Level the tops of each cake with a serrated knife so it’s nice and flat.
Place one chocolate cake layer on a 10″ cake circle.
Construction of the cake: Chocolate cake layer, chocolate ganache, chocolate cake, strawberry filling, strawberry cake.
After cake is layered, ice with the chocolate buttercream and decorate with piped rosettes with tip 1M and strawberries.
Notes
Once all layers are assembled, apply a thin coat of icing and refrigerate to seal the crumbs, this is called a crumb coat. Remove the cake when ready to fully ice and decorate.
Cake layers can be made, cooled, wrapped in saran wrap and placed in freezer bag and frozen up to a month.
Keep refrigerated in hot to warm weather and remove 2-3 hours before serving.
Keywords: chocolate, strawberry
Your long time friend was so grateful! It was a beautiful cake and was just perfect for the surprise! Thank you!!!
You are so welcome my dear friend!!! It was a special evening celebrating you!