I am no professional cake decorator. Just learning how to make those pretty swirls in the frosting was a major accomplishment for me. An offset spatula is the key. It actually makes it quite easy, who knew? When one of my very best friends is having a birthday I wanted to bake her a cake that was really going to wow her, and let her know how special she is to me; no ordinary cake would do. This cake is not only impressive with the strawberry flower that adorns the top of it, but it’s easy enough to make and decorate, even for someone who isn’t a professional cake decorator. Any home cook can easily pull off this beautifully impressive looking cake. Not only does it look absolutely lovely, kind of like a pretty package with a bow on it, but it has a secret ingredient in the filling that gives it a delightful nutty, chocolaty flavor that’s sure to please everyone.
Keep reading for the step-by-step instructions, some helpful tips and tricks, and to find out what the secret ingredient is. I promise, this cake is oh so very easy to make and it tastes absolutely divine! It’s not overly sweet like a store bought cake and it will impress everyone. You’ll get lots of Ooh’s and Ahh’s when you bring out this beautiful confection. Whoever you bake it for will know that they’re pretty darn special to you.
Prepare strawberries for filling:
Dice 1 quart strawberries into small pieces and place in a bowl.
Add ½ cup sugar to the diced strawberries and stir to combine.
Cover bowl and place in the refrigerator overnight to macerate the berries. The sugar will not only sweeten the strawberries but it will pull a lot of the excess moisture out of them too.
Bake chocolate cake:
Make chocolate cake according to the directions on the box using (2) 9-inch round cake pans. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
GOOD TO KNOW: Keep it simple and use your favorite boxed cake mix or make your favorite chocolate cake recipe from scratch. Either will work just fine for this cake.
Allow cake to cool completely.
TIP: Bake the cake and get the diced strawberries in the fridge to macerate the night before. Then assemble and decorate the cake the following morning. Pop it in the fridge to allow the frosting to set up and it’s ready to go later in the day for the party.
Make frosting:
Place softened cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add ½ cup sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
Beat on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add heavy whipping cream.
Turn mixer to low speed. Once whipping cream incorporates into the cream cheese, increase speed to high and whip until frosting increases in volume and stiff peaks form, about 2-3 minutes.
This frosting is delicious! Not too sweet and nice and creamy and light! Perfect with fresh strawberries. The cream cheese gives it some heft and it keeps the frosting in place once it’s spread on the cake. You just want to keep it chilled.
Assemble the cake:
Remove diced strawberries from the fridge and drain off excess juices. Set aside.
Thinly slice 1 quart of strawberries. A sharp paring knife works great for this step. Set aside. Reserve one of the prettiest strawberries for the center of the strawberry flower.
Place first cake round on a cake platter.
PRO TIP: Place strips of foil on the cake platter underneath the cake round. This will keep any frosting or filling ingredients from gettin on the cake platter while you assemble the cake and frost it.
Are you ready to find out what the secret ingredient is? It’s Nutella. It adds a creamy, chocolate nuttiness to the flavor profile. Not only is it delicious, but spreading a layer of it on the cake will serve as a barrier to keep the bottom cake layer from getting soggy from the diced strawberries and it acts as a glue to hold them in place too.
Top cake round with Nutella in an even layer.
Top the layer of Nutella with the drained, diced strawberry pieces.
Top with a generous layer of frosting. You can be quite heavy handed, the recipe makes plenty of frosting for this cake.
Place second cake round on top.
Frost entire cake with the remaining frosting. Start with the sides filling in the gaps with frosting between the top and bottom cake layers and finish with a generous layer of frosting on the top.
Now comes the fun part, decorating the cake. Assemble strawberry slices, points facing outwards towards the edge of the cake in a circle on top of the cake. Add another circle of sliced strawberries, allow the points to overlap the previous circle of sliced strawberries working your way inward towards the center of the cake with each ring of strawberries. Continue layering circles until you come to the center of the cake.
Place a whole strawberry in the center.
Gently remove foil strips from underneath the cake.
Chocolate, strawberries and whipped cream, a classic dessert flavor profile that almost everyone loves and never falls out of favor. Fancy it up with a flower made of strawberries and this cake becomes a beautiful decadent treat!
Garnish with fresh peppermint sprigs if desired.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Happy, happy birthday Cindy! It made my heart so very happy that you enjoyed this cake. It had to be a special cake for a very special lady. I love you girlfriend! I’m so blessed to have you in my life and to be able to do this thing called life together. I’m honored that I was able to celebrate your special day with you! ❤️
Chocolate Strawberry Cake
Equipment
- (2) 9 inch cake pans
- paring knife
- stand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients listed on the box needed to make the cake
For the filling:
- 1 quart strawberries, diced
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅔ cup Nutella hazelnut spread
For the frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup sugar
For the topping:
- 1 quart strawberries, thinly sliced
- fresh Peppermint sprigs, for garnish
Instructions
Prepare strawberries for filling:
- Dice 1 quart strawberries into small pieces and place in a bowl.
- Add ½ cup sugar to the diced strawberries and stir to combine.
- Cover bowl and place in the refrigerator overnight to macerate the berries.
Bake chocolate cake:
- Make chocolate cake according to the directions on the box using (2) 9-inch round cake pans.
- Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool completely.
Make frosting:
- Place softened cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add ½ cup sugar, and vanilla.
- Beat on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add heavy whipping cream.
- Turn mixer to low speed. Once whipping cream incorporates into the cream cheese, increase speed to high and whip until frosting increases in volume and stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.
Assemble cake:
- Remove diced strawberries from the fridge and drain off excess juices. Set aside.
- Thinly slice 1 quart of strawberries. Set aside.
- Place a cake round on a cake platter.
- Top cake round with Nutella in an even layer.
- Top Nutella with the drained, diced strawberries.
- Top with a generous layer of frosting. You can be quite generous, the recipe makes plenty of frosting for the cake.
- Place second cake round on top.
- Frost entire cake with the remaining frosting.
- Assemble strawberry slices, points facing outwards towards the edge of the cake in a circle on top of the cake. Add another circle of sliced strawberries, allow the points to overlap the previous circle of sliced strawberries working your way inward towards the center of the cake with each ring of strawberries. Continue layering circles until you come to the center of the cake.
- Place a whole strawberry in the center.
- Garnish with fresh peppermint sprigs if desired.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Did You Make This?
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Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:35
Remember…Jesus ❤️’s you!