This Strawberry Chocolate mini cake is the ideal dessert for the coming holiday. Made with decadent chocolate cake, filled with chocolate ganache and strawberries, coated in strawberry buttercream and topped with fresh strawberries, you’re gonna want to try it!
Valentine’s Day; the cutsie holiday where you had to write everyone in your homeroom a themed valentine and pair it with some sort of candy awkwardly taped to it, the day you spend with your love, or your friends, or remembering someone special. However you choose to celebrate the coming holiday, might I just suggest one small adjustment? Make this cake!
In all seriousness I will admit I love this holiday. One of my best friends once described my personality as “loving love and loving that I love love.” Yeah, it’s embarrassing. But as much as I “love love” I think I’ve found a new object of my affection: this cake!
When I created this recipe I wanted to foster a feeling of intimacy. This intimacy does not necessarily have to be strictly romantic, it could be intimacy between friends, family, even time spent alone getting to know yourself better. That’s why this cake is small. It’s meant to be shared in small groups, or on your romantic date night, or by yourself!
A few tips and tricks to make this process super easy:
Fun fact, this cake is probably the easiest recipe I have on my blog but I’d still like to share ways to make it even easier since we’re about quality baking done in a stress free way here at Karis Bakes!
- Buy quality chocolate-okay maybe this won’t make the process easier but it will make your heart happier. Splurge for the good stuff, you deserve it.
- Dark cocoa powder works best-I’ve tried regular cocoa powder and I really think that dark cocoa powder stands out in this recipe. Something about it’s flavor balances out the sweetness of the strawberries and it just works! So grab that dark cocoa powder if you’re able.
- Pour your ganache at the right temperature-more on this below.
- Sift strawberry powder-to flavor the buttercream with strawberry flavor we add blitzed freeze dried strawberries. After turning the strawberries into a powder there will still be some larger pieces, sifting the powder before adding it to the buttercream helps the buttercream remain as smooth as possible.
- Don’t skip out on the fresh strawberries-this step might seem excessive, but I promise it’s worth it to add fresh strawberries to the middle of the cake. They bring a lightness to the flavors that works perfectly.
A note about the buttercream
I’ve taken my classic vanilla buttercream recipe and adjusted the ratios to create this to-die-for strawberry buttercream. As previously mentioned, be sure to sift the strawberry powder before mixing it in for a smoother final product. You should be able to find freeze dried strawberries in any regular grocery store, Walmart or Target. However if you have trouble finding it, this brand on amazon is my favorite!
Looking for other recipes with strawberries? Check out my Strawberry Shortcake Recipe here!
Tips for perfect ganache
Ganache is possibly one of the simplest recipes and yet somehow it can give people so much trouble. The perfect ganache uses a 1:1 ratio, heavy cream to good quality chocolate. The process can be broken down into four simple steps:
- Measure out the same amount of chocolate to heavy cream. This recipe for example uses 1/2c (2oz) of chocolate to 1/2c (2oz) of heavy cream
- Heat the heavy cream on the stove or in the microwave until it is hot, paying attention not to scorch it. It will heat up faster than you expect so be careful here.
- Pour hot cream over the chocolate and cover it to trap in the steam. Let this sit for about one minute.
- Remove the cover and stir vigorously until the mixture has fully come together. It should be fairly thin and runny.
The next hurdle to jump when dealing with ganache is its temperature. The hotter the ganache, the more runny it will be, the colder, the thicker. I won’t give an extensive breakdown of the various temperatures of ganache here, but for the purpose of this recipe, your ganache does need to be at the right temperature to pour over your cake.
If you were to pour it without giving it any time to cool, you’d be left with a soupy, chocolate, albeit delicious, mess. The ideal amount of time to wait after making the ganache is anywhere from 20 – 45 minutes. The range is so large because of the various factors (climate, air conditioning/heating, etc.) that can affect how slowly or quickly your ganache cools in your specific environment.
The most important thing to pay attention to is how the ganache falls when you take a spoonful of it and pour it back down into the bowl. If it feels too soupy to pour over your cake, keep waiting. Otherwise, when you’re ready, release your inner child and enjoy the thrill of pouring chocolatey goodness over your cake. I’m serious, there are few greater joys.
Can baking be therapeutic?
I often talk about baking being a therapeutic hobby but I’d like to share more about why I feel that way as well as how it can become a relaxing hobby for you!
When I bake, it’s my creative time. I may put on my favorite nostalgic movie or tv show in the background, or a Spotify playlist titled “French café” and leave my troubles behind.
Sometimes I pour myself a glass of wine and light a candle. Then, with the mood set, the mixing of batter, kneading of dough and smoothing of icing is my only care in the world.
When I say baking is therapeutic, sometimes people respond saying “not for me it isn’t!” I completely understand why someone might feel that way. There have been plenty of times where I spend hours on something only for it to fail or something breaks that shouldn’t or I forget to clean as I go and am left with a disastrous kitchen to clean.
So I should in reality, have a caveat to my “baking as therapy” claims…
Baking is therapy when you curate the experience to be relaxing.
How do you curate that relaxing experience for yourself, you ask?
How to make baking therapeutic…
- Prepare your mind–know that it’s okay if the cake doesn’t rise, or the butter wasn’t chilled enough. Shift your mindset from seeing your failures as mistakes to seeing them as opportunities for learning.
- Prepare your space–I cannot and will not bake on top of a messy kitchen. If I were to do this I would be starting from a place of stress! Take an extra 10 minutes to clean any dishes in the sink and wipe down the counters, this small effort will pay you back greatly in brain space and clarity.
- Clean as you go! I’ll tell you the one way to make baking stressful and tiresome, is to not clean as you go! After I use each ingredient that I no longer need, I put it away.
After each major step in the process, I wipe down the counters and put dishes that are no longer needed in the sink. If there is chill time or baking time I don’t sit, I do the cleaning then. Make this shift and you’ll really notice the difference!
By the way, this last tip really helped me when I was on The Great American Baking Show–and the crew that cleaned up behind us made a point to tell me that my workspace was always so clean they didn’t have much to do!
I would reply by saying “it’s how I stay sane in this tent!”
Additional suggestions:
*Maybe try printing off the recipe instead of looking at it on your phone, tablet or laptop and use this time to unplug from technology for a few hours
**Invite friends or family over to share your creation with you. Time spent with loved ones over food is a universally special experience
And that’s how I discovered baking for my mental health. If you try any of these suggestions, let me know how it went for you! I’m really invested in spreading this message to others in hopes that baking will enhance your lives more than it already does!
Happy baking, and Happy Valentine’s Day loves!
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Strawberry Chocolate CakeYield: 6-8 Prep Time: 30 minutes Baking Time: 25-30 minutes Total Time: 1 hour max |
Ingredients:
For the cake
- 1 c all purpose flour
- 3/4 c sugar
- 1/4 c + 2tbsp dark cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp espresso powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 c warm water
- 1/2 c buttermilk
- 1/4 c vegetable oil
- 1 egg + 1 egg white
- 1 tsp vanilla
For the strawberry buttercream
- 1/2 bag (0.5 oz) freeze dried strawberries, blitzed into a powder
- 1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 c powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp heavy cream
For the ganache
- 1/2c semi sweet chocolate
- 1/2c heavy cream
For the decoration/filling
- 1 container fresh strawberries
Instructions:
For the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180 celsius) and prepare 2 6″ cake pans with nonstick spray and parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1 c all purpose flour, 3/4 c sugar, 1/4 c + 2tbsp dark cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp espresso powder and 1/2 tsp salt.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 c warm water, 1/2 c buttermilk, 1/4 c vegetable oil, 1 egg + 1 egg white and 1 tsp vanilla. Make sure that the eggs are fully incorporated.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until completely combined
- Pour batter evenly into the two prepared cake pans and bake for 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of each layer comes out clean.
- Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before wrapping and freezing, or decorating.
For the strawberry buttercream
- Measure out half (0.5 oz) of the bag of freeze dried strawberries and place them into a food processor. Blitz until it becomes a powder and no more large pieces are visible
- Beat 1 cup of room temperature butter on medium speed with a hand or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth (about 30-45 seconds)
- Add in 4 cups of powdered sugar cup by cup while mixing on low speed. Do this carefully, it can make a mess.
- Sift strawberry powder into the buttercream and mix on low speed until it starts to come together
- Increase the speed to medium once most of powdered sugar and strawberry powder is incorporated and add in 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp salt
- Add 1 Tbsp of heavy cream or milk to the frosting and continue mixing on medium/high until frosting has lightened in color and is fluffy
- Turn speed to low to release any air bubbles that accumulated in the beating process
For the ganache
- Measure out 1/2c (2oz) of chocolate and 1/2c (2oz) of heavy cream. Place the chocolate into a medium heat-proof bowl.
- Heat the heavy cream on the stove or in the microwave until hot, 45 seconds to one minute, paying attention not to scorch it. It will heat up faster than you expect so be careful.
- Pour hot cream over the chocolate and cover it to trap in the steam. Let this sit for about one minute.
- Remove the cover and stir vigorously until the mixture has fully come together. It should be fairly thin and runny.
The Assembly
- Level the top of the completely cooled cakes with a serrated knife to create a flat top surface
- Place a small amount of buttercream on the cake board and then place your first layer of cake on top. The buttercream will work as your “glue” to stick the cake to the board
- Scoop about 1/2 cup of buttercream frosting onto the first cake layer, spread it out evenly creating a small dam of frosting around the edges
- Place fresh chopped strawberries in and a drizzle of ganache in the middle of the cake
- Place second, leveled layer of cake on top
- Spread frosting around sides and top of cake with an offset spatula and then smooth those layers with a putty knife or bench scraper to trap in the crumbs
- Place cake in the fridge for 5-10 minutes for the frosting to harden
- Take the cake out of the refrigerator and place a second layer of frosting on the top and the sides of the cake.
- Set cake back in the refrigerator for another 5-10 minutes for the outer layer to harden
- Remove cake from fridge and pour the ganache on top of the cake, stopping when an inch of cake remains untouched by ganache
- Using a small offset spatula or a spoon, smooth the ganache on top of the cake so that it pours over the sides
- Decorate the top with whole fresh strawberries, flowers, basically as you please!
If I wanted to make this cake bigger for a birthday, should I double the recipe?
Yes! Or if you do 1.5x the recipe you would get a 6″ 3 layer cake which would feed around 12 people. Hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions?
Yes. In the ingredients for the buttercream you say 4c of powdered sugar, but in the directions it’s 3c. Do you do 3 or 4?
Oh great catch thanks for letting me know, 4 cups is standard, though 3 would work if you prefer it a little less sweet. I’ll fix it now!