How To Make Strawberry Chocolate Cake

Here’s how to make a delicious strawberry chocolate cake!

Strawberry Chocolate Cake might seem like a bit of an odd combination. Don’t let the strawberry and chocolate together convince you otherwise. This is an amazing dish that will make you the talk of the town at all your parties.

How To Make Strawberry Chocolate Cake

Strawberry Chocolate Cake Recipe-chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, chocolate ganache, and sweet strawberries! This is the BEST chocolate cake recipe!

My birthday was yesterday and we celebrated with the most epic chocolate cake. The boys insisted that I had a chocolate birthday cake. They said every birthday HAS to have chocolate cake…and balloons . I love chocolate cake so they didn’t have to convince me. I was on board 100 percent.

Josh and the boys kicked me out of the kitchen and baked me a special Strawberry Chocolate Cake to celebrate my birthday. It was made with love and LOTS of chocolate. It was the best cake ever and I am sharing the recipe today because you NEED to make it for Valentine’s Day.

This is the ultimate chocolate cake. The chocolate cake is perfection, super moist and super rich, just how I like it. It also has a THICK layer of my favorite chocolate buttercream frosting. I am normally not a huge frosting person, but this frosting is heavenly. I could eat it by the spoonful and I did. I snuck into the kitchen for a little taste:)

It doesn’t end there, the cake also gets drizzled with silky chocolate ganache. Oh yeah!

To balance out all of the chocolate, the cake has a layer of strawberries in the middle and strawberries on the top. They make the cake extra pretty and you can’t go wrong with strawberries and chocolate together.

This cake is STUNNING! It is almost too pretty to eat. I said almost. I dominated my piece. I loved every single bite. I was in chocolate heaven.

This Strawberry Chocolate Cake was divine. I highly recommend you make it for Valentine’s Day. Your friends, family, sweetheart, or whoever you want to share the love with will LOVE it. I promise. I am kind of hoping my boys make it for me again. I kind of liked getting kicked out of the kitchen…ha!

Strawberry Chocolate Cake

This is the BEST chocolate cake recipe. Chocolate lovers will be in dessert heaven!

PREP TIME – 20 mins

TOTAL TIME – 55 mins

Ingredients  

For the Cake:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

For the Frosting:

• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips melted and cooled to room temperature

For the Ganache:

• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Garnish:

• 24 ounces  strawberries
•  

Instructions 

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
• While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. In the bowl of stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until the frosting is smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Mix in the vanilla. Drizzle in the cooled melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Set aside while you make the ganache.
• To make the chocolate ganache, add the chocolate to a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat just until it bubbles around the edges or you can heat it in the microwave. Pour cream over the chocolate chips. Let the mixture stand for 30 seconds, then stir until the chocolate melts and a smooth ganache comes together, about 1-2 minutes. Let the ganache cool for about 5 minutes. Stir again.
• To assemble the cake, place one cake on a cake stand or serving platter. Spread frosting over the bottom layer of the cake. You want a thick layer of frosting. Next, slice 1 cup of strawberries lengthwise and place them on top of the frosting. Carefully place the second cake on top of the strawberries and gently press down to help set the cake.
• Pour the chocolate ganache over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides of the cake. Wait for the ganache to set, about 15 minutes. Remove the stems from 10 pretty strawberries and place them stem side down on the top of the cake. Gently pressing them into the ganache so they will stand up. Cut into slices and serve!

Strawberry Chocolate Cake (Extra Easy)

Kitchen Tips

Strawberry Chocolate Cake pairs all the joy of a chocolate covered strawberry with the moistness of your favorite sponge cake. Whether you are celebrating a Special Day or just looking to bake something to “wow” the crowd, this decadent treat never goes out of style.

Who doesn’t love a heaping slice of chocolate cake? Add some strawberries in the mix and it’s game over. The first time I made this cake was for the Super Bowl and it got gobbled up before I could even finish passing out the slices. I like to think it stole the show!

Before you hop in and start baking, I do recommend taking two days to bake this cake to make your life a bit easier. You’ll need to prepare two 11-inch Sponge Cakes (click the link for a recipe) for the layers and I always find it convenient to take care of this step the day before serving. It’s not the end of the world if you pack the whole process into one day, but I’m always a fan of working just a bit ahead to bring more joy to my cooking.

How to Make Strawberry Chocolate Cake

This Strawberry Chocolate Cake looks straight out of the fanciest of bakeries. But, don’t get discouraged! It’s actually quite simple to make, with the “toughest step” being to ensure you don’t overbeat the cream.

• Bake two 9- or 11-inch sponge cakes. Slice each cake into two layers for a total of four.
• Spread strawberry jam on each layer.
• Sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder into your two cups of cold heavy whipping cream.
• Beat on high-speed until the mixture doubles in volume, paying special attention to not over beat.
• Carefully spread cream on top of your jelly layer. Sprinkle on sliced strawberries. Apply remaining cream to the outside of the cake.
• To make the ganache, place chocolate chips into a bowl. In a sauce pan, heat the remaining cup of cream just until it simmers (do not let it boil or it will burn!) and immediately remove from heat. Pour hot cream over the top of chocolate chips and stir rapidly until smooth and completely incorporated.
• Place ganache in a Ziplock or piping bag. Drizzle chocolate on the edges of the cake, letting it drip off the sides. Apply ganache to the top of the cake, forming one smooth layer. Refrigerate cake for 15 minutes or until the ganache hardens.
• Dip strawberries into the remaining ganache. Place alongside the edge of the cake.
• Allow cake to set overnight in the refrigerator for the best texture.

Tips for the Best Strawberry Chocolate Cake

After trial-and-error, we’ve pulled all of our best tips together to ensure your cake comes out with a bang.

• Sift Dry Ingredients. If you’re an avid baker, you’ve probably heard that you should be sifting your dry ingredients to yield the best taste and texture. Why? Sifting ensures all your dry ingredients are lump-free and fully incorporated with one another before you add any wet ingredients.
• Use Very Cold Heavy Whipping Cream. To get the fluffiest, most rich whipped cream, use very cold heavy whipping cream. Cold dairy emulsifies much quicker and gives you that luscious, spreadable texture.
• Nail the Drizzle. I’ve seen a couple chefs nail the ganache drizzle with a mere spoon, but I like to take no risks and use a piping or Ziploc bag with a tiny hole cut at the very tip. Using a slow, pulsing motion, squeeze out just a tiny bit of ganache, altering the pressure you apply to get your desired thickness as you drizzle around the outer edges of the cake.
• Get a bakery-worthy flat cake top. The key to a perfectly flat cake top? Use the bottom side of your sponge cake. Yes, it’s as simple as that! Bonus: If your cake sticks or falls apart on any one side (it happens!), simply flip and use for the inner layers.
• Use Quality Chocolate. Use the best quality chocolate you can get your hands on for the ganache. Since this frosting is made with just two ingredients, skimping on quality isn’t an option.
• Perfect Ganache Texture. Your ganache may be seen runny and inconsistent at first, so you’ll want to continue stirring until the chocolate is fully melted. Still too runny? Allow it to sit for a few minutes and it will thicken.

Hot Tip: Not a fan of strawberries? It’s okay, we can still be friends. Feel free to swap in a different berry or fruit. Cherries, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and apricots will work particularly well.

Chocolate Strawberry Cake

Perfect for birthdays and special celebrations, this rich and fudgy dessert is like a chocolate-dipped strawberry in cake form. We paired dark chocolate cake with fluffy buttercream that gets its flavor and pretty pink color from fresh berries. Make sure to chop up the strawberries very well (or chop them up in a food processor) so that they easily blend into the frosting. When making the cake layers, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is very fluffy and almost white in color. This will make the cake crumb extra tender and light. You can bake the cake layers one day in advance. Wrap each layer tightly in plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble the cake. Fresh whole strawberries make a pretty topper, but to make this dessert even more impressive, arrange a few chocolate-dipped strawberries on the cake before slicing and serving it.

Recipe Summary

Total:

2 hrs

Active:

30 mins

Yield:

Serves 12 (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients

Cake Layers

• Vegetable shortening, for greasing pans
• 1 (4-oz.) semisweet chocolate baking bar, chopped
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 cup (8 oz.) salted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (about 8 1/2 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 cup whole buttermilk

Frosting

• 1 cup (8 oz.) salted butter, softened
• 6 cups (about 1 1/2 lb.) unsifted powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries (from 6 whole strawberries), divided

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1Prepare the Cake Layers: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 3 (8-inch) round cake pans; set aside. Place chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl; pour boiling water over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate is melted and smooth. Let stand until cooled to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
• Step 2Beat butter with a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add granulated sugar and brown sugar, beating until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating until just blended after each addition. Add vanilla and cooled melted chocolate, beating until blended. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating on low speed until just blended after each addition.
• Step 3Beat egg whites in a separate bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. Gently fold into chocolate batter. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
• Step 4Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in centers of Cake Layers comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove Cake Layers from pans; let cool completely on wire racks, about 40 minutes.
• Step 5Prepare the Frosting: Beat butter with a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the chopped strawberries, beating on medium speed until mixture is creamy with streaks of strawberries throughout. Increase speed to medium-high; beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Gently fold in remaining strawberries.
• Step 6Place 1 Cake Layer on a platter; spread about 1/2 cup Frosting over top of layer. Repeat process with 1 additional Cake Layer and 1/2 cup Frosting. Top with remaining Cake Layer; spread remaining Frosting over top and sides of cake. Garnish with whole and halved strawberries.

Chocolate Cake With Strawberries (6 Inch)

Chocolate Strawberry Cake is the easiest layered chocolate cake I’ve ever made. A very simple chocolate ganache and fresh strawberries are used for the mid layer and the topping. The best combination of chocolate and strawberries ever!

Okay our all time favorite dessert is walnut baklava, but we love to make cake recipes too! A chocolate cake with strawberries has always a special role in our lives. It is the same for most of you, isn’t it?

I used my ultimate chocolate cake recipe here which is really simple and turned it into a wonderful chocolate strawberry cake. What I love about this recipe is everything for the cake is in one bowl. It’s always great to have less mess in the kitchen when baking something, isn’t it? I made a super easy strawberry cake filling that doesn’t require any professional skills.

This chocolate cake with strawberry is perfectly fluffy and the chocolate ganache adds a wonderful richness to it. Not to mention the beauty and refreshment added by fresh strawberries.

How To Make

First, make the wet ingredients mixture. Start with whisking eggs and sugar as we do in almost all cake recipes. Add in oil, yogurt, milk and vanilla extract. You can substitute coconut oil or olive oil for vegetable oil and buttermilk for yogurt and milk.

Second, make the dry mixture. In another bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.

Combine the dry and wet mixtures: Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture in 2- batches. Mix with a hand whisk just until combined. Do not over-mix!

Bake: Share the batter into two 6-inch pans and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350F. Let them cool completely before turning them into a beautiful chocolate cake with strawberries.

Pro Tip: The type of cocoa powder you use will affect the color of the batter. Some cocoa powder brands are really dark and even one or two tablespoons will be enough to have a nice chocolate color. So please add the flour and cocoa powder gradually and if you think it is not brown enough add one or two tablespoons more cocoa powder.

Alternative Add-Ins

If you want a bit more chocolate flavor in your cake, add a handful of chocolate chips in the batter. Alternatively, you can soak some raisins into red wine or into rum and add them in the batter, which will take your cake to the next level.

Make sure you make these additions as the last step of the batter, right before pouring it into the pans. And please do not over-stir. Giving it just a few stirs with a spatula gives you the best result. Otherwise, chocolate chips or raisins will sink to the bottom.

What Kind Of A Pan?

I used two 6-inch round cake pans for this  fresh chocolate strawberry cake to make things easier for me. I feel really hopeless at cutting a large cake into equal halves, so I mostly prefer making two cakes and then combining them to make a two-layered cake. You can definitely choose a larger cake pan if you are good at halving the cake step. If you bake it in one large pan, you might prefer leaving it as a whole and drizzling the top with ganache and then placing fresh strawberries on the top. Still soooo good!

Easy Strawberry Cake Filling

You need to wait until the cakes completely cool down before combining and layering them. This cake has the easiest filling as the only thing you need to do is slicing the strawberries lengthwise and placing them on top of the first cake after spreading the ganache. I recommend you to wait for 5-10 minutes before placing the strawberries so that you give the ganache some time to set a bit.

Put the second cake right on the strawberry slices and then pour over the rest of the ganache. Again wait for about 10 minutes or more and top your cake with whole strawberries. I’m sure some pretty chocolate curls on this wonderful looking cake would make it look even more impressive, but first I need to learn how to make them and practice a bit.

As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below.

Recipe

CHOCOLATE & STRAWBERRY CAKE

The easiest two-layered chocolate strawberry cake topped with chocolate ganache and fresh strawberries.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 6
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American

INGREDIENTS

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Cake:

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• ⅓ cup oil (vegetable oil or sunflower oil)
• ½ cup yogurt
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup and 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda 
• A pinch of salt

Chocolate Ganache:

• 160ml heavy cream
• 160g chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Filling and topping

• 1 and ½ cups fresh strawberries
• Fresh mint leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Lightly oil two 6” round spring form cake pans, line their bottoms with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
3. Beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer or a hand whisk until creamy.
4. Add in oil, yogurt, milk and vanilla extract. Mix well.
5. In another bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
6. Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture in two or three batches. Stir with a hand whisk just until combined. Don’t over-mix!
7. Share the batter into two pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Remove them from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then carefully remove them from the pans. Allow them to cool completely on a cooling rack.
9. Meanwhile prepare the chocolate ganache.(See the video above).
10. Put chocolate chips in a bowl.
11. Heat the heavy cream just until it boils and pour it over the chocolate chips. Wait for 2 minutes and stir until smooth.
12. Let it reach room temperature.
13. Spread ¼ of your chocolate ganache on the first cake. Wait for about 10 minutes so that the ganache sets a bit.
14. Thinly slice ½ cup of strawberries lengthwise and place them on the chocolate ganache you spread on the first cake.
15. Carefully place the second cake on the strawberries, gently press on it just to help it set.
16. Pour the rest of the ganache over it. Wait about 10 minutes and then place the rest of the strawberries as they are on the top.
17. Place a sprig of fresh mint on the very top.

Strawberry Chocolate Layer Cake

• Level: Easy

• Total: 1 hr 5 min
• Active: 30 min
• Yield: 12 to 14 servings

Ingredients

Cake:

4 sticks butter, plus more for greasing

3/4 cup cocoa, plus more for dusting

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups boiling water

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 whole eggs, beaten

Filling:

Four 1-pound boxes ripe strawberries

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 quart heavy whipping cream

1 cup powdered sugar

3 cups hazelnut chocolate spread, such as Nutella

Directions

1. For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease and dust four 9-inch round cake pans with cocoa.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar and salt.
3. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the cocoa. Stir together. Add the boiling water, allow the mixture to boil for 30 seconds and then turn off the heat. Pour over the flour mixture and stir lightly to cool.
4. Combine the buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla and beaten eggs. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the butter/chocolate mixture. Divide the batter among the prepared cake pans and bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely on racks.
5. For the filling: Halve the strawberries, and then combine them in a bowl with the granulated sugar and vanilla. Mix them all together. Leave them to macerate for 15 minutes, and then drain off the excess liquid.
6. Whip together the powdered sugar and cream and set aside.
7. Spread the top of each cake with hazelnut chocolate spread, some whipped cream and strawberries and layer the cakes. Don’t assemble more than an hour before serving.