Take chocolate dipped strawberries to the next level with this dreamy Chocolate Strawberry Cake!
Being a blogger is strange sometimes. When I started this blog, I intended it to be a journal of sorts, tied in with whatever I had baked for the week. Somewhere along the way it evolved into covering the recipe of the day and the issues that I ran into when making it. Which isn’t a bad thing – it works – it’s just not exactly what I intended. As such, I don’t often share too much of what’s going on in my personal life unless I’m weeks into being sick or ranting about something or other. Or maybe it’s just that my life isn’t as exciting as I thought it was?
This week, I’m feeling like I really just need to get some things off my chest, and in the spirit of my original vision for this blog, I’d like to use this post to do so. If you’d rather not read my ramblings, feel free to scroll down to the recipe!
The day before I was meant to finish and shoot this cake, I got a call from my mom telling me that my aunt had just months to live. She has been sick since last year and underwent extensive cancer treatment last winter for a very treatable, though late-stage, cancer. She was given the all-clear in early 2016, but seemed to have ongoing issues and doctor appointments. Very recently she had an MRI done for something unrelated. It revealed that the cancer had spread rapidly to her spine, and that there was no cure.
SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.
Why the hell was this not found earlier? What were the doctors even doing for the past year?? They knew there was a chance of it spreading, so why didn’t they find it sooner? Why wasn’t the MRI (or other tests) done months ago??
I am so pissed off.
I’m not going to go into how much the medical system in Canada sucks (it does, don’t believe the hype) and how shitty so many of the doctors are, or how long you have to wait for treatment (months, sometimes years), or how many times my aunt got sent home from emergency last year (before she was diagnosed) with a shrug and no proper tests or treatment.
Realistically, even if they found this new cancer early enough I still don’t think it could have been treated, but at least everyone would have known sooner. There’s a lot of things that could have/should have been done differently, but they weren’t and here we are.
Two days after getting that call, my mom and I were on a plane back to Edmonton to see my aunt (another thing that sucks in Canada? Airfare prices). I still had to finish this cake before we went, but it seemed so trivial with everything going on.
It would be an understatement to say that it was literally the last thing I wanted to do. Not caring about something and being a perfectionist leads to a bit of a conflict, so it’s no surprise that I am not 100% happy with this cake or these pictures, but it is what it is.
Forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to do builds character, right? So I forced myself to finish this cake, knowing it would partly help take my mind off of everything. I packed up some of this cake and next week’s cake and took it to Edmonton for my aunt and cousin. They loved it, and I’m glad I had the chance to have them try some of my baking. I won’t go into the details of the visit, but it was good. As good as it could be under the circumstances. Sigh.
Anyhow, if you’ve gotten through this whole post, thanks for listening to me ramble!
Now, this Chocolate Strawberry Cake… it’s seriously delicious. I made it into a 6 layer cake because, well, I wanted to. You can leave it as a 3 layer cake, but you’ll have some frosting left over. The 6 layers is a great ratio in my opinion! The cake is my usual chocolate cake recipe and the strawberry buttercream is my favorite Swiss meringue with some fresh pureed strawberries thrown in. All topped off with a simple chocolate ganache and fresh strawberries!
Notes & tips for this Chocolate Strawberry Cake:
- Some people have had issues with the frosting curdling once the strawberries are added — this is due to excess water in the berries. You can either strain your chopped berries or press them in a paper towel to remove excess water. Alternatively you can use strawberry jam instead of fresh strawberries or, ideally, freeze-dried strawberry powder.
- You can use any kid of berry you prefer for the frosting.
- To enhance the chocolate flavor of the cake, you can use strong hot coffee instead of hot water.
- For the ganache, I let mine set overnight (with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface). It will be too thick at this point, so I microwave it for 10 secs and stir it until it’s the right consistency.
- The drip technique works best on a chilled cake so that the drips set quickly.
- Be sure to check my Swiss Meringue Buttercream post for tips and troubleshooting.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, see my Flat Top Cakes post.
Chocolate Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 3/4 cup hot strong brewed coffee or hot water
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Strawberry Buttercream:
- 6 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups unsalted butter cubed, room temperature
- 1/2 cup pureed strawberries (about 1 cup whole strawberries – stemmed, hulled, and pureed)
Ganache:
- 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate finely chopped
- 2 oz heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F, grease three 6″ round baking pans and dust with cocoa powder. Line bottoms with parchment.
- Place all dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl whisk all wet ingredients (pour coffee/water in slowly as not to cook the eggs if very hot).
- Add wet ingredients to dry and mix on medium for 2-3 mins. Batter will be very thin.
- Pour evenly into prepared pans. I used a kitchen scale to ensure the batter is evenly distributed.
- Bake until a cake tester comes out mostly clean. A total of 30-35mins.
- Cool 10minutes in the pans then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, cut each layer in half horizontally to get 6 layers.
Strawberry Buttercream:
- Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
- Place bowl over a hot water bath on the stove and whisk constantly until the mixture is no longer grainy to the touch (approx. 3mins).
- Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
- Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.
- Add strawberry puree and whip until smooth.**
Ganache:
- Place chopped chocolate and cream into a microwave safe bowl. Stir to combine. Microwave for 20 seconds, stir. Microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until ganache is smooth and silky. Set aside to cool completely and thicken slightly before using on cake.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving dish. Top with about 2/3 cup buttercream. Repeat with remaining layers. Frost and smooth the outside with a thin crumb coat. Chill for 20mins.
- Frost the cake. Using a small spoon, place dollops of ganache around the top edges of the cooled cake, allowing some to drip down. Fill in the top of the cake with more ganache and spread evenly with an offset spatula.***
- Top with decorative dollops of frosting (I used Ateco tip 847), whole strawberries, and a pearl border (using Wilton tip 12).
Notes
** The buttercream may look like it’s curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth. Some people have had issues with the frosting curdling once the strawberries are added — this is due to excess water in the berries. You can either strain your chopped berries or press them in a paper towel to remove excess water. Alternatively you can use strawberry jam instead of fresh strawberries.
*** You may have some ganache left over.
Lana says
I just made the frosting, I had previously baked vanilla cake that needed some strawberry.
Loved it.
Eveything turned out great. I even heated egg whites to pasteurization temperature of 140. Took me a bit longer to whip because of that.
The frosting tastes amazing.
Question: is it OK to add less sugar or it will impact the frosting recipie?
Olivia says
Hi Lana! So happy you loved it! You can reduce the sugar slightly, but too much and you’ll affect the structure of the meringue.
Kelsey Maynard says
I had the problem with the curdling buttercream. I strained and squeezed the strawberries but it still happened. I did a quick YouTube search and found a video where a chef took a blow dryer to his frosting in the mixer and it smoothed out. I grabbed my wife’s blow dryer, set the stand mixer at #2, and hit it with the blow dryer. It took about 7 minutes and the frosting came out perfectly smooth. Thought I’d share the tip.
Olivia says
Hi Kelsey! It’s amazing what a blow dryer can do! This is one of my recommendations on saving Swiss meringue buttercream. If it’s curdled it just needs a bit of heat to warm it up so it comes together. Thanks for sharing! 🙂 https://livforcake.com/swiss-meringue-buttercream-recipe/
Jessyca says
Hi ,
Would I triple this recipe to make 2-10in round pans, 3in deep?
Olivia says
Hi Jessyca! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
Lora says
Quick question…when using freeze dried strawberries, how much do you use?
Olivia says
Hi Lora! I mostly add it to taste — anywhere from 4-6 Tbsp of the powder.
Tina says
Can you refrigerate the frosting overnight?
Olivia says
Hi Tina! Yes, just thaw to room temp and rewhip before using.
Donna says
Ah this looks so good! My drip never works out, I think I need to use more cream. Practicing is always fun though!
Olivia says
Hi Donna! If your ganache is too thick you can also just warm it a bit in the microwave 🙂
Marjoleine says
Perhaps its already mentioned in the avond trail, but i just wanted to say that reduced strawberry purée also works in the buttercream. I used approx 250 grams of strawberries and made them purée in the blender. After that I put the pure in a little cooking pot and brought it to boiling point and subsequently let it simmer for Approx 45 minutes on a very low heat (I used an old fashioned heat diffuser on the stove to even temper the heat more). The result was a more concentrated and firm purée with way less water.
Olivia says
Hi Marjoleine! Thank you so much for the tip with the puree!
Natalie says
Hi going to test this recipe this weekend but I was wondering how the chocolate cake recipe would convert into cupcakes?
Olivia says
Hi Natalie! It should work fine, just reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so. The batter is very thin though so don’t fill the liners more than half full.
tyler says
Let me start by saying that in no way shape or form am I a baker. However my daughter asked for a “strawberry cake” for her 3rd birthday so i made it happen. I happened upon this recipe via pinterest and read through all the comments…twice and I was very nervous… especially about the frosting. I also have NO cake tools… just my mixer.
At any rate it took me all day with two kids to complete but it was great.
I made it in 3 9inch rounds so I had to double the cake and the frosting.
I opted for the hot coffee over water and the cake it self was super moist with a great flavor.
For the frosting i used the fresh strawberries i had that looked the least ripe to avoid any excessive moisture i also threw in a few handfuls of freeze dried ones to help as well. The only other tweak i made was I dipped a few strawberries in the ganache and used them for the topping. this was all done day before party and it did fine overnight in the fridge. I took it out about 2 hours before cutting it.
great recipe!
Olivia says
Hi Tyler! Thanks for the great feedback, glad you liked the recipe! I wish I had dipped my strawberries in chocolate too, next time!
Angela R King says
OMG I just made this cake and the frosting is like water! What can I do?
Olivia says
Hi Angela! Sorry to hear you’re having trouble with this. Can you give me a bit more info? Have you added the strawberry puree? What was the consistency of the buttercream before that?
Miranda says
This happened to me too when I added the butter. Before that the meringue looked perfect.
Olivia says
Hi Miranda! It sounds like your butter and/or meringue were not at the right temperature. If it was soupy it just needs some time in the fridge and a rewhip. If it was curdled it needs to be warmed a bit. I talk about all my tips and trick here: https://livforcake.com/swiss-meringue-buttercream-recipe/
Terri Lynn says
Hi Liv! I may try this one, or the Mint chocolate chip cake, for my bday (yes! I’m making my own cake lol). I’m just wondering: could I use a strawberry extract (one of the actual ones, like strong ones, not just a flavouring), instead of fresh strawberries? And what would you recommend for the amount? Thanks so much, really excited to make another one of your cakes 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Terri! I think that would work fine — just add it to taste (I’ve never used it before). Or you can use strawberry jam or preserves too.
Paula says
Hi Olivia,
I made your delicious strawberry cake recipe that uses freeze dried strawberries and I frosted the cake with your Swiss meringue recipe from this post for chocolate strawberry cake. The strawberry cake that uses freeze dried strawberries is genius. But when I made the Swiss meringue with pureed fresh strawberries I ran into trouble. I blended past the curdled stage (as I always do for Swiss meringue) to smooth out the frosting, but when I added 1/2 cup pureed strawberries the frosting broke badly. The more I beat the frosting the more it separated. I still assembled the cake using your method for very berry cake which has a short cake look. This assembly masked the broken frosting somewhat and it tastes incredibly strawberry but the frosting has a mouth-feel that is noticeably a broken frosting. Maybe I should have used a traditional buttercream instead?? I really prefer Swiss meringue for all the reasons you do as well. I love your blog!!
Olivia says
Oh no! I wonder if your strawberries had more water than mine 🙁 Did you add it all at once? I think I added slowly (I’ll update the instructions). These days I prefer to use freeze-dried fruit over fresh fruit as it’s just easier to work with and doesn’t cause as many potential issues 🙁
Angela says
Same issue, think you are right about juicy strawberries being the culprit. Definitely going to try it again sometime with the freeze dried! Tastes great though 🙂 I had great luck with meringue powder!
Olivia says
Good to know!! Thank you 🙂
Brenda says
Hello so I had the same issue with pureed strawberries, I’m not sure how to use the freeze dried berries? Do I make a puree out of those instead? Your help is greatly appreciated! 😀
Olivia says
Hi Brenda! I much prefer using freeze-dried (not dehydrated) berries (https://amzn.to/2xDVq1n) these days as it doesn’t affect the consistency of the frosting. You can buy the berries whole and grind them up or you can buy the powder. I used them in this recipe here: https://livforcake.com/strawberry-cake-mascarpone-buttercream/
Kat says
My frosting looked like it was sweating strawberry juice. I’m thinking next time I’m just going to cook strawberry bits with a little sugar on my stovetop to make a jam and cook off the excess water content. Please update recipe.
Sara says
Hello! I’m making this cake for a friend but wanted to do in steps so I’m not rushed the day of. Can you freeze the frosting? And If is what do I do with after it defrost.
Olivia says
Hi Sara! Yes you can freeze the frosting. Bring it back to room temperature and rewhip before using.
Nancy says
I’m attempting to bake this cake for my daughter’s 7th birthday this weekend. After reading all the comments, I’m a little nervous now. Olivia, please give me some advice about what are the possible problems I may run into when I’m making this cake and how I should remedy them. Thank you very much.
Olivia says
Hi Nancy! Is it the buttercream that you’re nervous about? If so, be sure to wipe your mixer bowl and whisk down with lemon juice or vinegar to make sure it is completely grease free and make sure there is no trace of yolk in your whites or your meringue will not stiffen. The buttercream may look like it’s curdled at some point. Keep whipping until it is completely smooth. If it looks soupy, place it in the fridge for 20mins and rewhip. Add the strawberry puree slowly and make sure it’s not too watery. I hope that helps!
Nancy says
I made the cake and it came out perfect (phew). It tasted really good. Making the buttercream was kind of tricky, at least for me. At first, it was very soupy and I refrigerated it 2 times in between whipping and re-whipping. At my last attempt of re-whipping, the cream started to curdle and it started to stiffen up and came out with perfect consistency (took me about an hour). Overall, I’m very happy with the result and I can’t wait to try your other cake recipes. Thank you.
Olivia says
Hi Nancy! Wow, that is a long time for the buttercream to come together, but I’m so glad it did! Next time, maybe try it with butter thats still just slightly cold and firm (just slightly) and make sure that meringue is completely cool.
Aukai Borges says
Hey. I want to try this for my brothers birthday. Cant get the round pans in my neck of Hawaii. I do have a 9×11 would i have to double or triple the recipie to make the cake?
Olivia says
Hi Aukai! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
Kay,a says
I made this cake for an auction benefiting the school I teach at. It turned out BEAUTIFULLY! It also brought $1,300 dollars!!! Thank you for the awesome tips and recipe!
Olivia says
So happy to hear that!
Suzanne says
HI I would like to make this using 3 9″ cake pans. If I double the recipe for everything will that work?? Thank you.
Olivia says
Hi Suzanne! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html With three 9″ pans your layers will be thinner — it depends on if you care 🙂 Ideally doubled would work for three 8″ pans.
Pamela says
Hi Olivia!
I just made this cake for Mother’s day. Although i doubled it because I have 8″ pans. The cake is very chocolatey even though I just used hot water.
When I made the buttercream it did look curdled but I continued to whip it just as you told others and eventually it smoothed out (I’m guessing but I think it took 15 minutes after adding the strawberry puree.)
Anyway, I want to know if I can freeze the cake as there was only 4 people at dinner and even after sending some of it home with my parents I still have about 2/3 of the cake left.
Olivia says
Hi Pamela! So happy to hear that the cake and buttercream worked out for you!! You can totally freeze the cake. I freeze all of mine. Portion it up, wrap each slice in plastic wrap, and stick them in a freezer bag 🙂
Amy K says
Hi!
I am not much a baker, but I’m giving this a go for my hubby’s bday. Only question so far is, what does “crumb coating” mean when you frost the outside of the cake? I know from my past trials I always have a mess with this part. Any advice?
Thanks!!
Olivia says
Hi Amy! Crumb coating is just doing a very thin layer of frosting all over the cake to lock in the crumbs. Then you chill it for a bit before doing the final coat and it should go much smoother!
Nia Cypress says
I don’t know what I did wrong with the buttercream everything was fine then I add the strawberry then it got grainy and running and unusable?
Olivia says
Hi Nia! Was the buttercream completely smooth and fluffy before you added the strawberry puree? It sounds like it might just have needed more whipping. Meringue buttercreams are notorious for curdling, but it’s just a stage they go through.
Jermallony says
Hi Olivia!
I am making this cake for my daughter’s first birthday 🙂
I have my cake frosted with the crumb coat in the fridge.
I found the buttercream to be a bit too sweet for my taste.
Would the buttercream be okay if I take out sugar next time?
Could I substitute the final frosting for something else?
Thank you <3!
Olivia says
Hi Jermallony! You can try reducing the sugar to 1 cup, but that could affect the meringue. You could try using a strawberry whipped cream instead if you prefer something less sweet!