Chocolate Strawberry Cake

This weekend was my husband’s birthday. Even though we went out for dinner and didn’t have a party this year, I couldn’t resist making him a cake. Since he’s a chocoholic and also loves strawberries, I’ve decided to make him a Chocolate Strawberry Cake. It was a rich, moist and delicious cake and he loved it!

Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner maybe you want to surprise your loved one with this cake. Chocolate and strawberries are a really nice combination and make for a delightful and romantic Valentine’s dessert. You can use a heart-shaped springform pan (instead of the square one I used), top the cake with whipped cream or chocolate glaze and, as a nice touch, decorate it with chocolate-covered strawberries (this was not my choice this time as you’ll see at the end of the post).       

Time: 100 min, Prep: 70 min.  Cook: 30 min
Servings: 12-16

Ingredients:

For cake:

• 5 eggs
• 50 ml water (5Tbsp)
• 200 g sugar
• 200 g all-purpose flour

You also need a 22.9 x 22.9 cm (9 x 9 inch) springform pan greased with butter and lined with parchment paper.  Or whatever baking pan you might have but make sure to adjust the ingredients accordingly.

For filling:

• 4 eggs
• 160 g sugar
• 900 g strawberries + 120 g sugar
• 800 ml whipping cream
• 24 g gelatin

For syrup to moisten cake:

For top and bottom layers:

• 200 ml water
• 100 g sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

For middle layer:

• 200 g chocolate (I used milk chocolate chips)
• 70 ml whipping cream

For decorating cake:

To keep the recipe simple, you can decorate the cake with whipped cream and strawberries.

This time I’ve used fondant (see my post on How to Make Honey Fondant) and chocolate glaze. For this you’ll have to give yourself an extra half an hour or so. I made the chocolate glaze using:

• 200 g chocolate (I used milk chocolate chips)
• 120 ml whipping cream

Directions:

Cake:

Beat egg whites and water with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Add sugar and beat until dissolved. Fold in the egg yolks.

Slow down the mixer and carefully blend in the flour until just combined.

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Pour batter into springform pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until brown (you can insert a toothpick in the centre and if it comes out clean then it’s ready).

Filling:

While the cake was baking, I made the filling.

You have to beat the eggs and the 160g of sugar in a bowl over a pot of boiling water until thick and creamy.  Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

In a food processor, puree 700 g of the strawberries until smooth.  Add the remaining 120g of sugar and place in a saucepan over low-medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Make the whipped cream but don’t whip for too long, just until it forms soft peaks.  Combine with the chilled egg mixture and the chilled strawberry puree. Then add the gelatin softened in a few tablespoons of warm (not hot) water.

Cut the remaining 200 g of strawberries into small pieces. Add these to the cake filling and mix until well combined.

Syrup:

For the syrup, combine water and sugar and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.  Add vanilla extract and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let it cool.

Assembling the cake:

Place the cake onto your work surface. Let it cool and then cut the cake horizontally in three.

Place the first layer in your square springform pan and moist it with sugar syrup. Using a spatula, evenly cover the top of the first layer with half of the strawberry filling.

Place the second layer on top. Melt the 200 g of chocolate with the 70 ml of whipping cream in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Set aside for a few minutes until it becomes warm and has a pouring consistency.  Pour onto the second layer of the cake.

Add remaining strawberry filling on top. Place the third layer of the cake and moist it with sugar syrup. Cover with plastic foil and refrigerate overnight.

Decorating the cake:

The next day remove the cake from the springform pan and decorate it as desired. As I mentioned earlier you can top it with whipped cream and decorate it nicely with strawberries.

I poured chocolate glaze (made of 200 g chocolate and 120 ml whipping cream) on top and used a fondant strip to cover the sides of the cake. Also, I made a coffee cup, an ashtray and a pack of cigarettes using fondant as this is pretty much what my husband likes. I’ve seen a cake decorated the same way on Lissa’s Cakes Romanian blog (although hers looks much nicer since she’s an expert at using fondant). This was my first time working with fondant and I’ve enjoyed it a lot; you will most likely see more cakes covered and decorated with fondant in the future.

Disclaimer 🙂 : By no means I am trying to encourage smoking as I’ve never smoked myself . I’m just hoping that from now on, my husband will prefer fondant cigarettes instead of the real and harmful ones.