Chocolate & Strawberry Cake

Two layers of the most deliciously rich and moist chocolate cake ever. Sandwiched together with chocolate buttercream and hidden fresh strawberries, decorated with more fresh strawberries. This is honesty the best chocolate and strawberry cake ever!

This is one of my favourite chocolate cakes ever and you guys absolutely LOVED my Strawberry and Chocolate Cupcakes so I had to turn it into a cake. It is a bit different compared to my Velvety Vanilla Cake and Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake as it is only 2 layers instead of 4.

I made the cake layers slightly thicker than I would if I was making a 4 layer cake I did this 1. Because who doesn’t love more cake and 2. It gives the cake a bit more height.

Chocolate and Strawberry Cake

This cake is honestly so simple and easy to make. Although I try to make my recipes as easy to follow as possible so that everyone, no matter your skill level, can try them out and enjoy them. This cake is definitely one of the easiest on my blog.

It is made with a simple chocolate cake recipe, chocolate buttercream and fresh strawberries. The strawberries make the cake look super pretty and you can never go wrong with chocolate and strawberry together. It is simply divine.  

Before you start baking line two 8” cake tins with parchment paper and leave to one side. I do this by first using butter on the bottom and sides of my cake tin. Next, I put my parchment paper on top.

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 If you use cake tins larger than 8” then your cakes will be flatter and will bake quicker. If you use a smaller cake tin your cakes will be thicker and will take longer to bake.

To make the cake I started by creaming together the butter and sugar until it was light in colour and fluffy. Next, I added in the self-raising flour, eggs, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and baking powder and mix until all the ingredients are combined.

Split the mixture between your two 8” cake tins and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.

Buttercream and Decoration

To make the buttercream, mix the butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder until it is completely combined. You can add 1tsp of milk at a time mixing in between until the buttercream is a perfect consistency.

If the buttercream is too sweet for you a top tip is you can add a pinch of salt. The salt helps lessen the sweetness of the buttercream.

Next, I cut up some strawberries for the filling. I used 400g of fresh Strawberries and removed five strawberries for the decoration on top. I sliced the remaining strawberries for the filling.  

To decorate the cake I placed the first cake on my serving plate and piped the buttercream on top. I then scattered the strawberries over the top of the buttercream. Next, I add the second cake on top and piped the remaining buttercream. I finished by adding fresh whole strawberries and sprinkling over freeze-dried strawberries.

Ingredients

Butter – For the cake, you can use either unsalted butter or a baking spread such as Stork.

Light Brown Sugar – light brown sugar gives this cake a more caramelly taste. If you can’t get Light brown sugar you can make your own with caster sugar and treacle or molasses.

Self-raising flour – In this cake, I would recommend using self-raising flour instead of plain flour. Self-Raising flour also includes baking powder and helps the cake rise better. For the size of the cake, I also add in a teaspoon of baking powder just to ensure the cake rises evenly.

Eggs – Eggs add volume to the cake it is also used for binding all the ingredients together.

Vanilla Extract – This adds flavour. In this recipe, I used Dr Oetker Vanilla Extract.

Baking Powder – Baking Powder is a levelling agent, which causes your batter to rise.

Cocoa Powder – Cocoa Powder is what makes this cake so chocolatey and delicious.

Icing Sugar – Icing sugar is what gives the buttercream its sweetness when mixed with the butter.  

Unsalted Butter – In the buttercream, you MUST use unsalted butter – the type that you get wrapped in foil. If you use a baking spread like Stork it will be too soft and you won’t be able to pipe the buttercream. The unsalted butter makes the buttercream stiffer and more pipeable.

Strawberries – I used fresh strawberries in the filling and for the decoration, I then used freeze-dried strawberries as a decoration.

Equipment

Spatula – I always use a spatula when I am baking. I find it so much easier to scrape any extra mixture from around the bowl.

8” Cake Tin – I a loose-bottomed 8” cake tin. It is so much easier to get the cake out after baking.

Piping Tip – I used a Wilton 1M Piping Tip. It creates such a pretty swirl.

Piping Bags – I used these large piping bags. They fit all the buttercream in easily and make it easier to pipe.

Scales – You must weigh out all your ingredients. If you don’t it could cause a lot of problems with your cakes, they may not bake properly, they might be greasy if you use too much butter or super dry if you use too much dry ingredients.

Alternatives

Why not make a strawberry buttercream instead of chocolate. To do this use 500g Icing Sugar and 250g Unsalted Butter. I would add 1tsp of Strawberry Extract and mix until all the ingredients are combined. Just like with the chocolate buttercream you can add a teaspoon of milk one at a time until the buttercream reaches the desired consistency. You could also add a little pink food colouring to the buttercream too.

You could also make chocolate-covered strawberries for the top of the cake. To do this first line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and leave to one side. Next melt 200g of chocolate (you can use milk, dark or white) in a heatproof bowl in the microwave on 20-second bursts. Dip your strawberries into the chocolate and then pop them onto a flat baking tray and put them in the fridge until the chocolate has set. This doesn’t normally take long around 30 minutes although they might be set before this.

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