Julie Clark
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Chocolate Strawberry Cake
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The most amazing chocolate & fresh strawberries combo: 100% homemade Chocolate Strawberry Cake! Everyone can easily make this from scratch cake with delicious flavor.
In my older age I’ve come to appreciate the chocolate & fruit combo, especially chocolate & sweet strawberries. That’s why I decided to take our best chocolate cake recipe and easy strawberry frosting to make this chocolate strawberry cake you’ll love. Make it for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day!
This Cake Tastes Exactly Like Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
I’ve not always been a fan of chocolate and fruit. It was our silky chocolate ganache fondue that tipped me over the edge. That delicious chocolate dip was even featured in our cookbook, At the Family Table, on a dessert grazing board.
Since then I’ve enjoyed a chocolate strawberry galette, black forest cake, raspberry bread with chocolate chips and chocolate covered cherry bread.
Because of my intense love for cake recipes for birthdays, holidays or any lazy Saturday, I needed to expand my chocolate strawberry cupcakes into a single layer easy chocolate strawberry cake. No drips. Nothing fancy, but a simple cake that is irresistible with every single bite.
This homemade chocolate cake is my base cake as our Mexican chocolate cake, chocolate tres leches cake, mint chocolate cake, cookie dough cake and Reese’s cake. It is foolproof and vegetable oil keeps it perfectly moist.
Love strawberries? Try our strawberry bread, easy strawberry cake, strawberry rolls and strawberry crumb bars.
Enjoy! -Julie
The answer to the perfect strawberry flavor.
Working with strawberries can be tricky because they are high in water content, so they can at times add too much moisture to a cake or frosting. Sometimes I make a strawberry reduction like in my homemade strawberry cake recipe.
For this cake, I chose to use freeze dried strawberries, as I did with our strawberry cookie recipe. I can easily find freeze dried strawberries at Aldi. Grind them into a powder with a food processor and mix it into the buttercream. Super easy and the most intense strawberry flavor.
The Best Chocolate Strawberry Cake
The most amazing chocolate & strawberry combo: Super Moist Chocolate Strawberry Cake! Everyone can easily make this from scratch cake with delicious flavor.
Servings 15
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup freshly brewed strong coffee
For the strawberries
- 1½ cups freeze dried strawberries
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup heavy cream (plus more if needed for desired consistency)
GARNISHES:
- strawberries
- chocolate shavings
Instructions
- Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
- Put flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk well. 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1¾ cups granulated sugar, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt1¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1¾ cups granulated sugar, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- In a stand mixer, mix the buttermilk, oil, eggs, vanilla together. Slowly add in the mix of dry ingredients while the mixer is on low. Add the coffee and make sure everything is combined. The batter will be very thin. 1 cup buttermilk, ½ cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup freshly brewed strong coffee1 cup buttermilk, ½ cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup freshly brewed strong coffee
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back when you touch it. Allow the cake to cool on a cooling rack.
- While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. Place the freeze dried strawberries into a food processor and pulse until it makes a fine powder. 1½ cups freeze dried strawberries1½ cups freeze dried strawberries
- In a stand mixer bowl, with the mixer on medium speed, whip the room temperature butter for 2 minutes until it is almost white in color. 1 cup salted butter1 cup salted butter
- Add in the powdered sugar, strawberry powder, vanilla and cream. Beat on low speed for 3-5 minutes, adding in another tablespoon of milk if the buttercream needs to be thinner. 4 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ cup heavy cream
- Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. Garnish with strawberries and chocolate shavings or curls.
Notes
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 15 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. **
Nutrition
Calories: 577kcal | Carbohydrates: 91g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 428mg | Potassium: 463mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 72g | Vitamin A: 499IU | Vitamin C: 289mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 7mg
How to Make Chocolate Strawberry Cake: Step-by-Step
Make the batter. Put flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk well, the set it aside. In a stand mixer, mix the buttermilk, oil, eggs, vanilla together.
Slowly add in the mix of dry ingredients while the mixer is on low. Add the coffee and make sure everything is combined. The batter will be very thin.
Bake the cake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back when you touch it.
Make the frosting. Place the freeze dried strawberries into a food processor and pulse until it makes a fine powder. In a stand mixer bowl, with the mixer on medium speed, whip the butter for 2 minutes until it is almost white in color. Add in the powdered sugar, strawberry powder, vanilla and cream. Beat on low speed for 3-5 minutes, adding in another tablespoon of milk if the buttercream needs to be thinner.
Decorate the cake. Spread the frosting on the cooled chocolate strawberry cake. Garnish with strawberries and chocolate shavings or curls.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have to add coffee to the cake?
Not necessarily, although we highly recommend it. You can’t taste the coffee in this chocolate strawberry cake. It simply enhances the chocolate flavor. You can add water if you don’t have any coffee.
I don’t have freeze dried strawberries. Is there another strawberry frosting I can use?
Yes. You can use our strawberry jam frosting or strawberry puree frosting.
