Dark Chocolate Strawberry Cake
As I was thinking ahead to Valentine’s Day, I reminisced on the Valentine’s Day treats I’ve made in the past. That was when I realized I made an adorable dark chocolate strawberry cake a few years back, but never shared the recipe!
As I remade this cake, I made a couple of adjustments.
One notable change is how I make my strawberry buttercream, along with a slight tweak to simplify the decoration.
But before we get into all that good stuff, let’s talk about each delicious component of this cake.
The Dark Chocolate Cake Layers
This cake is made with my small-batch chocolate cake recipe. It makes three, perfectly sized six-inch cake layers.
It uses dark cocoa powder, which gives it an amazing depth of flavor.
The recipe also includes buttermilk, which makes the cake layers moist and tender.
I wanted to really pack this cake with filling, so I decided to torte the cake layers (like I did for my pink velvet cake).
To do this, you simply cut your leveled cake layer in half horizontally, to turn one cake layer into two thin cake layers.
While I level cakes all the time, I don’t torte them very often.
My layers didn’t turn out quite as even as I’d envisioned, but they still helped me accomplish my goal.
I now had 6 cake layers instead of three! This allowed me to add 5 delicious layers of filling to this cake.
The Strawberry Buttercream
As important as the cake layers are, the strawberry buttercream needed to be spot on. I wanted it to be packed with real strawberry flavor.
However, I’ve run into issues adding fresh strawberries to buttercream in the past.
These attempts have included adding a strawberry reduction and strawberry preserves. During both attempts, my buttercream broke before I added enough to be happy with the flavor.
I also tried adding a strawberry emulsion, which made the frosting taste like a strawberry Jolly Rancher. It definitely wasn’t the flavor I was after.
This year, I finally discovered strawberry powder. It’s made from real, freeze-dried strawberries.
It adds tons of real fruit flavor into the frosting, without throwing off the consistency!
In my opinion, it’s by far and away the best way to make strawberry frosting.
I order my strawberry powder on amazon, and some health food stores carry it.
You can also find freeze dried strawberries at most grocery stores and pulverize them into a powder in a food processor.
The Cake Filling: Fresh Strawberries and Chocolate Ganache
Now for the rest of the cake filling. I wanted this cake to be bursting with dark chocolate and strawberry flavor.
To take things up a notch, I also added diced strawberries on top of the strawberry buttercream.
Then I drizzled my favorite strawberry preserves and a dark chocolate ganache over the top.
It gives every bite a ton of flavor. The dark chocolate ganache drizzle and cake layers do a great job balancing out the sweetness of the strawberry buttercream and preserves.
The Cake Decoration: Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
The final aspect of this chocolate and strawberry cake is its decoration.
With the same dark chocolate ganache drizzled inside the cake, I coated some strawberries and added a partial chocolate drip around each berry on top of the cake.
I think it gives the cake a whimsical look, and lets you know exactly what’s waiting for you inside.
I like to use a squirt bottle to add my drips, but you can also use a spoon!
If you’ve never added drips to a cake before, I cover everything you need to know about it in this post about chocolate ganache drips.
Tips for Making the Best Dark Chocolate Strawberry Cake
- Properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level) or use a kitchen scale.
- Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature to help them mix together better.
- Don’t over-mix your batter; stir until the flour is just incorporated.
- Don’t level and torte your cake layers until they have completely cooled to room temperature.
- Use strawberry powder to really pack your strawberry buttercream with flavor!
- Cut your cake layers in half horizontally with a serrated knife to create 6 thin cake layers! This allows you to pack twice as much filling into this cake.
- Make sure your buttercream is the right consistency. This will help give your cake proper structure and make it easier to decorate.
- If your cake layers turn out less than perfect, read my cake troubleshooting guide to see where things might’ve gone awry.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this dark chocolate strawberry cake recipe, please tag me @chelsweets and use the #chelsweets so that I can see your baking!
Dark Chocolate Strawberry Cake
Ingredients
Dark Chocolate Cake Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cup granulated sugar 333g
- 2/3 tsp baking soda 4g
- 1 tsp baking powder 4g
- 1/2 tsp fine salt 3g
- 3 large eggs, room temperature 168g
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 150g
- 2/3 cup hot water 160ml
- 2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature 160ml
- 2/3 cup dark or Dutch-processed cocoa powder 55g
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 250g
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature 452g; 1 lb box
- 1/2 cup freeze dried strawberry powder 55g
- 1/2 tsp fine salt 3g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 4ml
- 7 cups powdered sugar 907 grams; 2 lb bag
- 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature 160ml
- 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice; about 1/2 small lemon 12ml
Chocolate Ganache Drip
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips 175g
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature 240ml
Additional Ingredients for Decoration and Filling
- 2 cups diced strawberries filling
- 1 1/4 cup strawberry preserves filling
- 8 small strawberries
- 1 package of freeze dried strawberries optional
Instructions
Dark Chocolate Cake Layers
- Begin by preheating the oven to 350 F / 175 C. Line three 6-inch pans with parchment rounds, and spray with non-stick spray.
- Add the sugar and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium-high for 2 minutes with a whisk attachment. The mixture should become light in color.
- Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Then add baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix on high for another minute.
- Next, add 1 cup of flour to the butter/egg mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
- In a separate bowl, combine the hot water and buttermilk. Pour in the dark cocoa powder and whisk until no clumps remain.
- Pour in the buttermilk/cocoa mixture and gently pulse the mixture to incorporate the liquid. If you don't, you can end up splattering the cocoa mixture all over your kitchen!
- Mix in the 2nd cup of flour, at a low speed, and mix on low until the flour is incorporated.
- Evenly divide the batter between the prepared pans.
- Bake for 30-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the layers comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the layers cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then run an offset spatula around the edge of the pans to help separate the layers from the pans.
- Place the pans in the freezer for about 45 minutes to accelerate the cooling process. Once the layers are fully cooled, carefully flip the pans and remove the layers from the pans.
- Use a serrated knife to level the tops of the layers.
- If desired, cut each cake layer in half horizontally with a serrated knife, to create 6 thin cake layers.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- Beat the butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment, until smooth. Mix in the freeze-dried strawberry powder, vanilla extract, salt, and vanilla on a low speed
- Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add the heavy cream halfway through to make the frosting easier to mix.
- Once the powdered sugar is fully incorporated, mix in the freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached.
- If the frosting is too thick, add in additional cream (1 Tbsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (quarter of a cup at a time).
- Stir by hand with a rubber spatula for a couple minutes to get the frosting SUPER smooth, then cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Chocolate Ganache:
- Place the dark chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl and set aside.
- Heat heavy cream in a heatproof bowl in the microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until it's gently bubbling.
- If you don’t have a microwave or prefer to use the stove top, you can heat the cream over a medium heat in a pan until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat.
- Gently pour the heavy cream over the chocolate chips, making sure they are covered with cream. Allow mixture to sit for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir until the cream and chocolate are fully combined and ganache is silky smooth.
- Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Assembling This Dark Chocolate Strawberry Cake:
- Stack and frost cake layers on a greaseproof cake board, using a dab of frosting to help stick the first cake layer to the board.
- Add an even layer of strawberry buttercream on top of your first cake layer.
- Pipe a ring of strawberry buttercream on top of this and spread 1/3 cup of diced strawberries inside the ring. Drizzle about 1/4 cup of strawberry preserves, and 1-2 Tbsp of dark chocolate ganache over the strawberries.
- Repeat with remaining cake layers.
- Spread a thin coat of frosting around the cake, to fully cover the cake layers.
- Smooth using a bench scraper, then chill the cake in the fridge (30 minutes) or freezer (10 minutes) until the frosting is firm to the touch.
- Add a second, thicker layer of frosting to the cake, and smooth using a bench scraper.
- Press freeze-dried strawberries around the base of the cake and chill it one more time until the frosting is firm to the touch (fridge: 30 minutes or freezer: 10 minutes)
- Cover the small strawberries in chocolate ganache and place them around the top of the cake. Add drips around each strawberry with chocolate ganache using either a plastic bottle or spoon.
- Then enjoy!
Video
Notes
Tips for Making the Best Dark Chocolate Strawberry Cake
- Properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level) or use a kitchen scale.
- Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature to help them mix together better.
- Don’t over-mix your batter, stir until the flour is just incorporated.
- Don't level and torte your cake layers until they have completely cooled to room temperature.
- Use strawberry powder to really pack your strawberry buttercream with flavor!
- Cut your cake layers in half horizontally with a serrated knife, to create 6 thin cake layers! This allows you to pack twice as much filling into this cake.
- Make sure your buttercream is the right consistency. This will help give your cake proper structure and make it easier to decorate.
- If your cake layers turn out less than perfect, read my cake troubleshooting guide to see where things might've gone awry.
Making this Cake in Advance & Storage Tips
-
This cake can be assembled and decorated in advance but should be refrigerated once made and consumed with a few days because of the fresh strawberries inside the cake.
Nutrition
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Hi, i have a question. I saw this cake on tiktok and wanted to try it out but you hadn´t posted the recipe so I looked out for a chocolate cake and a strawberry buttercream. What is the diffrence between the Frosting and the buttercream
? Wich one will taste better?
Hi Mira,
Sorry it took so long for me to share this recipe!! To me, frosting and buttercream and the same! I use the words interchangeable 🙂 Hope that makes sense, this is the recipe I used to make the cake in that tiktok video! Happy baking <3
Hi Chelsey! This strawberry buttercream sounds delicious! Definitely going to make this cake for Valentine’s Day for my family!
Would you recommend using bubble tea straws to support with the fruit filling/6 layers? Or should this hold up just fine without the extra support? When do you use bubble tea straws at all in a single tiered cake?
As always thanks for your endless support in the kitchen!
Natalie
Hi Natalie,
That’s awesome, I bet they’ll love it! I didn’t have any issues with the cake supporting itself (the cake layers have pretty good structure), but you might want to insert a central dowel to make it easier to frost! It ends up being quite tall and I had to be careful when I was crumb coating it.
I hope that helps, happy baking and happy early valentine’s day!! 🙂
Can I use this dark chocolate receipt for chocolate ganache filling in between layers
Hi Sharon,
You can use this chocolate ganache recipe to drizzle between the layers, but if you’re looking for a thicker, more frosting like ganache recipe, I recommend using this one instead: https://chelsweets.com/2017/06/09/dark-chocolate-ganache-cake-filling/
Hope that helps, happy baking!
What is the total yield on the strawberry buttercream, and about how many cupcakes would it frost with a generous amount on each cupcake?
Hi Bailey,
This recipe makes 6-7 cups of frosting (it varies based on how much air gets beaten into the frosting). I’d say you can generously frost about 3 dozen cupcakes with that amount (piping big swirls). Hope that helps, happy baking! <3
I love your videos and recipes!!! Is this cake ok to make 2 nights in advance even with fresh strawberries? I’d like to make it for a work event Friday but with a small toddler I can only work on it after bedtime????? My plan is to bake and crumb coat Wednesday night and the top coat and decorate Thursday night?
Aw thank you Christina!! Two days in advance should be fine as long as the strawberries you use are super fresh and properly dried off! I left this cake in my fridge for two days, and it still tasted great when I took it out. I think that’s about as long as I like to let a cake with fresh fruit sit though!!
Your plan should work great! I also love that you’re breaking up the process into chunks, it makes baking a cake from scratch so much more manageable 🙂 Please let me know how the cake turns out, I’d love to know!
You are the best baking blogger I have come across in a long time, THANK YOU!!
Question: if I wanted to use three 8” pans instead, how would that change the recipe?
Aw thank you Lindsay!! You can totally use three 8 inch pans, and not cut the cake layers in half vertically. The bake time should be about the same, the only difference is that you might have a bit of leftover strawberry frosting. Hope that helps, happy baking!!
This is the first time I’ve ever written a review for any recipe and I really just had to because this one is absolutely amazing. It’s my favorite dessert I’ve ever made, an absolute showstopper. You’re like a magical baking fairy, seriously.
Thank you so much Kelsey!! I am so happy to hear that 🙂 Thank you so much!!
So I see that in your regular chocolate cake recipe you used espresso powder, is there a reason it’s omitted in the small batch recipes?
Hi Melina,
I love chocolate cakes with espresso powder, but I always get comments asking if it can be omitted. For that reason, I decided to exclude it from my small batch recipe. If you enjoy chocolate cake with it, feel free to add it 🙂 Hope that helps, happy baking!
Hi I love watching you videos!! I’m try to make this cake and all I can find is Hershey’s cocoa natural unsweetened. The recipe says it needs dark cocoa powder. Will my cake come out different if I use the Hershey powder? Or do you know what store would have the dark cocoa
Hi Ashley,
I prefer this cake with dark cocoa powder, but it will still bake up great with regular baking cocoa!! That will work just fine 🙂 happy baking!
Hi Chels! I wanted to ask, how many nine inch pans would this recipe make?
Hi Alina,
This recipe can be used to make 2 9″ cake layers. Hope that helps, happy baking!
@Chelsweets, How long would you bake the cakes using the 9 inch pans? Making this weekend!
Hi Jessica,
Great question! Since one batch of batter only makes 3, 6-inch cake pans, I’d recommend doubling the recipe to make 2, 9-inch cake layers and baking them in a preheated 350F oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Hope that helps, happy baking!
hi, I love your blog. I’m from Aus and I’m wondering what are the 6 inch pans by??
Hi Essie,
I use 6″x2″ pans, which are made by Fat Daddio! I order mine on amazon, these are them: https://amzn.to/384LS0q
Hope that helps!
Hi,
I was hoping to make this cake for my birthday this weekend but it seems I haven’t prepared properly. I live in Australia and I cannot get any freeze dried strawberry powder or even any freeze dried strawberry’s nearby without delivery which i do no have the time for. Is there anything alternate that I can use that is slightly more mainstream?
Hi Sienna,
So sorry for the delayed response! You can use strawberry jam in the frosting to flavor it if freeze dried strawberries aren’t an option, you just have to be careful not to add too much or it will break. You can also puree some strawberries with a bit of lemon juice and sugar, and cook them down to thick consistency, and add that to your frosting. Hope your cake turned out ok in the end!! <3
Can you this recipe be used to make a cupcake version?
Hi Jax,
It can! I’d recommend making a 1/2 batch of batter, and filling the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way. Bake in a 350 F oven for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Hope that helps, happy baking!
Hi Chelsea
Love all your cake recipes and really keen to try this recipe. I need to purchase the freeze dried strawberry powder and in uk I can’t order the exact one you’ve used. I’ve noticed the brand you’ve used the pink colour from the strawberry powder comes up a lovely colour. When I go on Amazon uk and search for freeze dried strawberry powder they look very dark in colour. Is the powder naturally quite dark and then becomes much more light pink in Colour once added to buttercream mix?
Thanks amy x
Hi Amy,
That’s a bummer! The powder is slightly darker than frosting, but it isn’t super dark in color. It’s a nice red color!! I think as long as the strawberries are naturally dried and ground up it should be ok thought <3
All good, thank you for responding, i managed to find some in a health store on the other side of town. I made the cake and it was absolutely delicious!!!! It’s definitely one of my family favourite sweets ever!!!
Aw I’m so happy to hear that!! Love that you drove across town to get it, that’s true dedication! 🙂 Thank you for sharing!!
Hi, I’m going to make this cake a day before my event and decorate it the night before the event, how long before we eat it should I take it out the fridge?
Would your gluten free chocolate cake be sturdy enough for this recipe? I was combining several different recipes for a chocolate covered strawberry cake when you had the whole thing right here!
Hi. I made this using the small batch recipe and 3 x 6 inch tins but didn’t manage to get the 6 layers as came out quite thin the layers. I have 3 x 8 inch tins I would like to use and would like to get 6 good layers. Do you recommend doubling recipe and then baking for longer ? Thanks
so i’m eager to try out the recipe but i don’t know if it will be moist enough. I read online that adding an additional 2 egg yolks makes it denser and more moist. do you recommend leaving it as is or adding them?
Not a fan of butter cream so I decided to make a berry infused white chocolate whipped ganache for frosting. It was a disaster! Lol. So I whipped some dark chocolate ganache for frosting and used the berry ganache between layers. But everything was saved from being a disaster because of the lovely cake sponge. The sponge was so scrumptious!!! Still have the tops left over that I munch on with my coffee.
Love the cake recipe!
very nice recipe are we use the butter cream as well cheese cream both for frosting.
https://realrecipe4u.com/category/desserts/strawbery_cake/
Hi Chelsea!!
I’ve never commented on recipe threads before but am so excited about your blog!
I’m a beginner (hobby) baker, and am looking forward to recreating this delicious and beautiful cake!
Question….would it be okay to switch the fresh strawberry powder for a Quik-strawberry powder. (I’d only do that now…because I cant wait to get the proper ingredient lol).
Any feedback will be great…and thank you for sharing!!!! I’m loving your vibe and cakes!
Best,
Fiorella
hi Chels!
I know you recommend using half a batch of batter for cupcakes, I was just wondering how many cupcakes that would make?
Thank You!
Baked this cake for my birthday and it was an absolute hit! So moist and tasty. Thank you for doing what you do
Ps- Woolworths has them in tiny snack bags called crisp strawberry crisps. Hope that helps ?
Hello just a question could I use strawberry milk power for the buttercream?
Love your recipes. Is dark cocoa the same as black cocoa? Is the dark chocolate a type of chocolate such as bittersweet? Thanks.
I’m not joking when I say this. You guys NEED to make this cake RIGHT NOW. It’s so delicious. I baked the cake and made 1/4 of Chel’s chocolate buttercream. Used a whole carton (about 31 ounces of cream) and made whipped cream. I added sliced strawberries in between the layers with whipped cream in the bottom one and the small batch of chocolate buttercream in the top layer then frosted it with whipped cream and it was absolutely delicious and not too sweet (perfect for me and my family).
Yes! Looks so delicious. Making this today for my birthday ??
What if I only have 9 inch cake pans? How do you spread out the ratio?
Hey Chel,
I’m making this cake for Mother’s Day tomorrow and I can’t get the strawberry powder for the icing so I was going to use the strawberry preservatives, how did you get it to become firm?
Did you do anything to thin the preserves first? Did you need to cut the squirt bottle hole larger? Can you respond to me at d.adkins77@gmail.com
This sounds delicious!! Would it be possible to make this into a half sheet cake? Would I need to double the recipe? Thank you!!
Do you think it would be safe to make and decorate/assemble this cake and immediately freeze it, to thaw and use one week later? I have never frozen a cake that contained fresh fruit or preserves before. Thank you!
How can I turn these into cupcakes?
HI!
First off, I’ve been following your baking adventures for a bit and absolutely love all your recipes! They are all I used when making my family yummy desserts! I was wondering, would it be okay to add gel food coloring to make the cake not pink? I’m wanting to making this cake for a strawberry chocolate cake lover BUT she doesn’t really like pink. lol. She’s a super smart 11 year old and was just accepted to a really awesome middle school, so i wanted to surprise her with a yummy treat! I may just brave it by adding a bit of purple and see what happens. Wish me luck! Thanks so much for sharing so much helpful content!
Much Love (from Texas),
Annabel B
Hello,
If i was to use 2 – 8 or 9 inch pans, how would I change the recipe?
Thank you
Hi! Do you think this recipe would work in two 9-inch pans or would the layers be too thin? That’s the only size I have unfortunately.
Hi! If I didn’t want to do a dark chocolate cake with this frosting, do you recommend I use your plain chocolate cake recipe or your moist chocolate cake recipe (with the espresso in it)?
I made this cake last weekend for my daughter. It worked out awesome!!! I messed up the ganache slightly because I didn’t cover it while I was decorating the cake. Other than that it was great!!!
Hello!
Will this strawberry buttercream hold well in the heat? 98F.?
If not, any other suggestions of your recipes?
Thanks!!
Hi Lisa,
Sadly no frosting is going to hold well in 98F :/ That is toasty!!
American buttercream usually holds up best in the heat, and you can swap out some of the butter for hi-lo shortening, but even with that swap the frosting will most likely melt at that temperature. I’m so sorry!
Hey, what’s the difference between the Death by chocolate cake base and this chocolate cake recipe I see this recipe had buttermilk and that has sour cream. I guess I’m just trying to see which is better?
Hi Briona,
Great question! They’re both delicious, but this cake has a bit more structure than my death my chocolate cake. My DBC cake is super tender and moist, but can be a little difficult to stack and frost because it’s so soft. This chocolate cake has a slightly tighter crumb that makes it easier to stack and frost. Hope that helps, happy baking!
The cake came out amazing!!! I’ve followed you since 2017, but finally tried decorating a cake for the first time now. I made it with my friend for his wife’s birthday and it came out amazing.
Came out perfectly, the only thing I wish I realized was fresh strawberrys do not last as long as I thought.
I think if I try it again though I’ll use your moist chocolate cake recipe instead!
I want to know how I can go over the top with this and give it a kick.
Hi Kamdyn,
Filling it with my dark chocolate ganache (recipe here: https://chelsweets.com/dark-chocolate-ganache-cake-filling/) and maybe some strawberry jam would be delicious! Just make sure you pipe a ring of ganache around the jam to keep it in place. Hope that helps, happy baking!