Strawberry Chocolate Cake That Looks Like It Cost $80 (It Costs About $12)
A dark chocolate layer cake with strawberry mascarpone cream and glossy ganache. It looks like a bakery cake, but it comes from one bowl, a whisk, and about $12 in ingredients. The coffee bloom does the flavor work; the berries do the styling.
Equipment
- Two 9-inch round cake pans
- Parchment Paper
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Small saucepan
- Heatproof bowl
- Wire cooling rack
- Serving plate
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup neutral oil (canola or grapeseed)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot coffee
Strawberry Mascarpone Filling
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, cold
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pint strawberries, divided (about 3/4 cup chopped for filling, best ones for top)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar for macerating
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Ganache
- 8 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (bar, not chips)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 pinch salt
Finish
- 6-8 perfect strawberries, sliced lengthwise
- 1 pinch flaky salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment rounds. Press the parchment flat with your palm so there are no curled edges.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl for a full 30 seconds. Lumps of cocoa don't dissolve later.
- Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth and thick, about a minute, with no streaks left.
- Pour in the hot coffee and whisk until the batter thins and looks almost liquid, about 30 seconds. It should look too loose; trust it.
- Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Bake 28-32 minutes until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Overbaking is the only real risk.
- Cool 10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack, then flip the cakes out and cool completely, at least 45 minutes. A warm cake will melt the filling.
- Make the filling: chop about 3/4 cup of strawberries, toss with 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, rest 15 minutes, and drain off half the liquid. Whip the cold cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to soft peaks, add mascarpone, and whip to stiff peaks with a slight flop. Fold in the drained strawberries with three broad strokes; leave streaks.
- Make the ganache: finely chop the chocolate. Heat the cream until it just simmers, pour over the chocolate, wait 2 minutes, then stir slowly from the center until glossy. Stir in the butter and a pinch of salt. Let sit 5-10 minutes until pourable but not hot.
- Assemble the cake: place one layer on a serving plate, spoon the mascarpone filling over it, and push it toward the edges. Set the second layer on top and press lightly. Pour the ganache from the center in a slow spiral and let it run down the sides.
- Finish: while the ganache is still soft, arrange the best strawberries, sliced lengthwise, in an overlapping ring near the edge. Set one whole berry in the center. Sprinkle lightly with flaky salt. Chill 15-20 minutes to set, then bring to room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
Use hot coffee in the batter; it deepens the chocolate without tasting like coffee. Room-temperature eggs and buttermilk matter, so give them twenty minutes on the counter. Break the ganache? Add a splash of warm cream and whisk hard; it comes back. Store the assembled cake covered in the fridge up to 2 days, but add the fresh strawberries within 3 hours of serving. Serve at room temperature; cold ganache is tough. Dairy-free swap: non-dairy milk plus lemon juice for buttermilk, whipped coconut cream for the filling, dairy-free dark chocolate for the ganache.