Chocolate Strawberry Cake

A few days ago I shared my Valentine’s Day wine picks, and today I’m sharing my easy Valentine’s Day dessert idea: Strawberry Chocolate Cake! I don’t know about you, but I’m always ready to try new strawberry dessert recipe ideas. I love the bright, juicy flavor of fresh strawberries, and they pair so well with chocolate. It’s a classic combo for a reason, right?

When I was thinking of this strawberry chocolate cake recipe, I knew that I wanted it to be rich, chocolatey, and fruity. Valentine’s Day chocolate dessert ideas are endless, and I wanted something just a little more special but still a classic dessert. And even though I originally created this recipe for Valentine’s Day, I make it all year round! It’s also a great birthday cake recipe, bridal shower cake idea, and summer cake recipe!

This cake was one of the first recipes on my site, and I recently updated it to include fresh strawberry buttercream instead of extract! It’s lick-the-spatula good, you guys. I also added thinly sliced fresh strawberries between each layer for an extra pop of berry flavor. As one of the most popular cakes here, I know you guys already loved this cake. But holy cow, it just got beyond amazing!

I always feel like fancy Valentine’s Day desserts make the holiday feel even more special, but let’s be honest. Most of us don’t have the time to make super crazy time-intensive desserts. That’s why I love this cake – because like the majority of the recipes you’ll find on my site, this cake looks beautiful and it’s a quick and easy cake recipe too! That’s a perfect Valentine’s Day dessert (or just general dessert) in my opinion!

Chocolate Cake Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder (I used dark chocolate cocoa powder because I wanted them really intense)
• 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup hot brewed coffee
• 1 cup unsalted butter (two sticks)
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Ingredients:

• 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 5-6 cups powdered sugar
•  3/4 cup strawberry puree
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• salt, to taste 
• optional garnish: fresh strawberry slices

Dark Chocolate Ganache Ingredients:

• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Cake Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line the bottom of three 6″ round cake pans. Set aside.

In a small pan, heat the butter and coffee until the mixture is steaming and the butter is melted. Take off the burner and let cool. (You can also do this in the microwave.)

Whisk together the dry ingredients, flour through baking soda.

Mix together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Add the butter mixture once cooled. If the butter mixture is still too hot when you mix these together, the egg will cook.

Add the dry ingredients into the now combined wet ingredients in two batches. Fold together until just combined. Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes – until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Allow the cake to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them upside down on a cooling rack to cool completely. This will help create a flat top for each layer.

Strawberry Buttercream and Dark Chocolate Ganache Directions: 

In your food processor or blender, blend about 10-12 large de-stemmed strawberries until smooth. (Seeds are ok.) Set aside.

Whip the butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, and then add the fresh strawberry puree. Beat on low speed, scraping the sides as necessary. The frosting will look piecy at this point, and that’s ok, it will all come together. Then beat on high speed for about 3-4 minutes, or until all the strawberry is incorporated, and the frosting is light and fluffy.

Ganache and Assembly: melt the chocolate chips and heavy cream together in a small bowl. Spread the strawberry buttercream between each cake layer, and place thinly sliced strawberries between each layer too, if desired. Once the cake layers are assembled, frost the outside of the cake with the buttercream, and drip the chocolate ganache over top. I recommend letting the frosted cake sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes before adding ganache, so it’s cold. Garnish with more fresh strawberries, and serve!

I hope you enjoy!  If you’re looking for more desserts that’s just as easy and delicious, try my Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes or Simple and Delicious Vanilla Cupcakes!