Strawberry Chocolate Cake

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Strawberry Chocolate Cake Recipe-chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, chocolate ganache, and sweet strawberries! This is the BEST chocolate cake recipe!

Strawberry Chocolate Cake Recipe

My birthday was yesterday and we celebrated with the most epic chocolate cake. The boys insisted that I had a chocolate birthday cake. They said every birthday HAS to have chocolate cake…and balloons . I love chocolate cake so they didn’t have to convince me. I was on board 100 percent.

Josh and the boys kicked me out of the kitchen and baked me a special Strawberry Chocolate Cake to celebrate my birthday. It was made with love and LOTS of chocolate. It was the best cake ever and I am sharing the recipe today because you NEED to make it for Valentine’s Day.


Strawberry Chocolate Cake Recipe

This is the ultimate chocolate cake. The chocolate cake is perfection, super moist and super rich, just how I like it. It also has a THICK layer of my favorite chocolate buttercream frosting. I am normally not a huge frosting person, but this frosting is heavenly. I could eat it by the spoonful and I did. I snuck into the kitchen for a little taste:)

Strawberry Chocolate Cake Recipe

It doesn’t end there, the cake also gets drizzled with silky chocolate ganache. Oh yeah!

Strawberry Chocolate Cake Recipe

To balance out all of the chocolate, the cake has a layer of strawberries in the middle and strawberries on the top. They make the cake extra pretty and you can’t go wrong with strawberries and chocolate together.

This cake is STUNNING! It is almost too pretty to eat. I said almost. I dominated my piece. I loved every single bite. I was in chocolate heaven.

This Strawberry Chocolate Cake was divine. I highly recommend you make it for Valentine’s Day. Your friends, family, sweetheart, or whoever you want to share the love with will LOVE it. I promise. I am kind of hoping my boys make it for me again. I kind of liked getting kicked out of the kitchen…ha!

Strawberry Chocolate Cake Recipe

Photos by Sarah Fennel

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Strawberry Chocolate Cake

This is the BEST chocolate cake recipe. Chocolate lovers will be in dessert heaven!
4.68 from 110 votes

Ingredients
  

For the Cake:

For the Frosting:

For the Ganache:

  • 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream

Garnish:

  • 24 ounces  strawberries
  •  

Instructions
 

  • Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
  • Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
  • While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. In the bowl of stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until the frosting is smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Mix in the vanilla. Drizzle in the cooled melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Set aside while you make the ganache.
  • To make the chocolate ganache, add the chocolate to a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat just until it bubbles around the edges or you can heat it in the microwave. Pour cream over the chocolate chips. Let the mixture stand for 30 seconds, then stir until the chocolate melts and a smooth ganache comes together, about 1-2 minutes. Let the ganache cool for about 5 minutes. Stir again.
  • To assemble the cake, place one cake on a cake stand or serving platter. Spread frosting over the bottom layer of the cake. You want a thick layer of frosting. Next, slice 1 cup of strawberries lengthwise and place them on top of the frosting. Carefully place the second cake on top of the strawberries and gently press down to help set the cake.
  • Pour the chocolate ganache over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides of the cake. Wait for the ganache to set, about 15 minutes. Remove the stems from 10 pretty strawberries and place them stem side down on the top of the cake. Gently pressing them into the ganache so they will stand up. Cut into slices and serve!

Have you tried this recipe?

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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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Comments

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  1. This cake looks so yummy! And your pictures are beautiful! I’m pretty sure my daughter will request this cake for her birthday as soon as she sees the pictures.

  2. Wow, this cake is incredible and a definite showstopper! Not only is it beyond beautiful, but it sounds like it would taste even better! 

    1. Yes, you can bake the cake in a 9×13 pan. You might have to adjust the baking time a little. Also, you won’t have the layer of strawberries in the middle. You can still frost with the frosting. You can try putting the ganache on top of the frosting, but it won’t have anywhere to drip down in the pan. It just depends on the look you are going for:)

    2. I made it using the round pans and it was a huge hit. I have more people to feed so I’m converting it to a 9×13 pan this time around. I’m planning to use a slicer to get the strawberry filling in the middle. Fabulous recipe!

    1. Yes, Josh is great in the kitchen. The boys helped measure a few things and licked the spatulas…ha!

  3. This is SUCH a stunning cake. Wow. My family usually forgets my birthday so to ever imagine having someone make me a cake like this is a dream! I am so happy for you and hope your birthday was relaxing and wonderful!

    1. Hi Janet, I make cupcakes with this recipe and they always rise and turn out great

  4. This is the same recipe that I have uses for 20 years, it’s my go to chocolate cake, it is the best and so easy. I love how I can be cooking it in country Australia and you in America.

    1. Where in Australia! I’m an American in South Aus, Victor Harbor. Love this site!!!

  5. This cake is absolutely stunning. Love everything in it! It would be pperfect for Valentine’s Day, or even better for my birthday on Friday, cause I’m not sure I can wait until the 14th 😉

  6. Made this tonight for my mom and grandmother’s birthday and it was a HUGE hit!! Both are avid chocolate fans and this was just the right amount of richness and decadence. The cake was some of the best I’ve ever had! Thank you for this great recipe! 

  7. 5 stars
    This recipw wasn’t heavenly! The chocolate cake is so rich and delicious. I used a Nutella butter cream frosting for the center; my tastebuds were smitten! It was a big big hit. Thanks so much for sharing. 

  8. Hey,
    the Cake looks awesome!
    I’d really like to try it, but I’m from Germany and have to admit, that I’m desperatly trying to figure out, how many gram 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips are…
    Maybe someone could help me? It looks so tasy and rich *.*

  9. 5 stars
    I made too many chocolate cakes in my life. This recipe is probably one of the best I came across so far.
    Moist, sweet, rich and overall delicious.
    Thank you for sharing. 

  10. Hi love the recipe! Want to make it for my son’s birthday could I ask how do we store it in the fridge if I make a day ahead. 

    1. If you have a cake container, store it in there. If not, loosely drape plastic wrap around the cake. I would wait to put the strawberries on top until the day of. Happy birthday to your son!

  11. 5 stars
    Very satisfying cake to make with my 6 year old granddaughter for my 35 year old son’s birthday!
    Everyone loved it!

  12. This looks so Yummy!! My daughter saw the pics and wanted one for her 7th birthday. Just wondering what if I dont use ganache and only frosting?

  13. This cake is beautiful! I’ve been looking for something similar that combines the strawberries with chocolate. Can you tell me how to store a cake like that? Can it sit on my table in a covered cake stand for a day or 2? Also, do the strawberry juices get all over the chocolate and make the cake messy?

  14. 4 stars
    very good but i added some powdered sugar to the ganache because it was way too bitter for my liking. also, i dont understand the adding a cup of boiling water to the mix but i did it & it turned out great! 🙂

  15. Does anyone have a suggestion of how to make this gluten free? I have an gluten free all-purpose flour, xanthan gum, and flaxseed. I’m open to other suggestions if you can provide the ratio! Thank you in advance!!

  16. 5 stars
    I also bake cakes but the way you cook such mouthwatering cakes is amazing. I loved it. Thanks a lot for sharing your commendable work with us. You deserve 5 on 5 stars.

  17. 5 stars
    The cake is dark, rich, and moist. The frosting is very sugary and smooth. I would recommend putting parchment paper in the pans before pouring in the batter. 

  18. I cook/bake alot but NEVER leave comments on recipes. This chocolate cake however has me feeling all types of GOOD. I had exactly one hour to make this before attending an event and let me tell you it took EXACTLY an hour and half (cooling time) to get a finished product that looks EXACTLY like the above picture.

    This cake was incredibly moist and unbelievably delicious. The strawberries balance out the chocolate frosting and ganache very well.
    This will be my go-to entertaining dessert, thank you for this.

    1. 5 stars
      Loved this cake! The batter is super thin, so don’t be alarmed. The middle layer of icing was a little too sugary for me but easy to resolve next time. The ganache is perfect. The entire recipe of ganache wasn’t needed, but I used it anyway and let it puddle on the cake plate, cause why not? I should have put in the fridge for the 15 minutes to let ganache set before applying strawberries, because mine slid a bit. But it was just for family and they didn’t seem to mind. It looks like it could win a show, beautiful and extremely tasty! Love how moist the chocolate cake is. Thank you!!

  19. 5 stars
    Followed the recipe perfectly. Never made a cake before iny life and this turned out just like the picture. Tastes amazing. Thanks for making it so simple.

  20. Small world. I’m from Kenya and have lots of these cakes in the cake shops. He wanted to buy for the father and was checking online where he can buy for the dad. And came across your cake. Looks delicious. I’ll give him a surprise on his birthday, and make it for him. My valentine boy… yeah his birthday on 14th Feb. 
    Thanks for sharing. Sounds easy to make.

  21. 3 stars
    I made the cake and it came out okay. The cake and ganache were delicious but I ran into a problem with my frosting. My frosting became very hard and when placed in the fridge even harder. What can I do to prevent it from hardening and make it more fluffy? Thanks 

  22. Hello, 
    I have a quick question: can this cake recipe be made into cupcakes?
    I have made this as a cake, and it was the star of the show at my party! Thank you so much it was so delicious!!

  23. Omg!!! this cake looks amazing and yummy, im trying it for Val’s day today, thank you for sharing the recipe ❤️

  24. 5 stars
    Delicious cake. I substituted strawberries instead of chocolate for the buttercream icing. Sauteed and pureed them before adding to the butter and confection sugar. Turned out amazing!

  25. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! Time consuming to make but well worth it. Absolutely one of my family’s favorite cakes for birthdays. A few changes I made but not necessary. First, I use Buttermilk in place of regular milk. Gives the cake a nice flavor and adds to moister. I add 1/2 more to recipe to make a 3 layer cake for leftovers. One layer is just strawberries and one layer is frosting &some chopped strawberries. I also add espresso coffee for a really nice flavor in the background. and I also use 60% dark chocolate chips for the buttercream frosting and for the ganache. We love dark chocolate and it isn’t that “icky” sweet either. Perfect combination. Just enough to add that extra without over powering it. This is by far a 5 star recipe! Yum Yum 

  26. 5 stars
    I loved this cake, great recipe, only complaint is that its very chocolaty. if that is any kind of complaint. i didn’t do the ganache and i’ll use strawberry jelly or sugar syrup strawberries next time, but other then that it’s a great cake.

  27. I made it this cake for my fiance’s birthday today. Sadly, the store didn’t have good looking fresh strawberries so I left those out. The cake was a hit nonetheless!! The cake is nice and moist and the buttercream is amazing. I have half of the buttercream and it was still a good amount 🙂

    The only thing I added to the batter was a 0.5 teaspoon espresso powder to the boiling water. 🙂

    Wonderful recipe. It will be my go-to chocolate cake recipe from now on 🙂

  28. 5 stars
    This cake is simple and delicious! My daughter left the ganache out and simply decorated top with a sprinkle of powder sugar.

  29. 5 stars!!!

    I have only ever baked chocolate chip cookies and brownies before and this was the first cake I’ve ever tried and it turned out AH-MA-ZING!

    It sounds difficult because of all the ingredients but is actually quite a simple recipe that is very easy to follow (even if you are a beginner like me)

    Thanks so much for sharing, I baked and brought it to a BBQ and It was a hit!!I was so impressed by myself and have saved this recipe in my “forever” folder.

  30. 5 stars
    I made this for my daughter’s birthday party. Very easy to make and it was delicious. Everyone raved about it. We drizzled chocolate over the strawberries on top and it turned out really pretty.

  31. What size pans did you use for this cake, you say pans so assuming that you divide the ingredients for top and bottom layer?

    Cheers
    Ste

  32. Planning to try this tomorrow – this looks delicious !!! Can I use sour cream instead of milk ? If so, how much ? I have this can of sour cream in the refrigerator and need to use it up !

  33. 5 stars
    Made this for a family dinner celebrating my mother in law’s 93rd Birthday. It was a huge huge hit. So beautiful and delicious! And for me not too hard. It’ll be added to my treasured recipes.

  34. Made cake and everything was going great until I made the ganache. It was my first time to ever make one so I triple checked the recipe. It never set and was pretty much like chocolate milk. I thought maybe it would begin to harden/thicken once on the cake but that was a big mistake. What went wrong? Could it be the quality of my chocolate chips or heavy whipping cream? Disappointed that it is now swimming in liquid chocolate 🙁

    1. ;-( Same result. This was NOT chocolate ganache and more like runny chocolate syrup pooling around base of the cake. Will make a perfect ‘Nailed It’ swimming pool disaster.
      I should I have double-checked other ganache recipes online before pouring. I didn’t think it looked right. More fool me.

  35. This looks amazing and planning to make it for a bday party. How many people do you think it will serve? We have 20 coming and I’m wondering should I double up the recipe or make two cakes?! Thank you!

  36. 5 stars
    I’ve always wanted a really yummy chocolate strawberry cake, this is definitely a yummy chocolate strawberry cake!!! You should definitely try it! ❤️

  37. This cake looks amazing! I only have two 4 in mini cake pans. How can I adapt the ingredient amounts to make just enough for that size? Would cutting ingredients in half work?

  38. 5 stars
    I baked this cake for my daughter’s birthday yesterday. We were scrolling through pictures of chocolate cakes and she saw this one and immediately knew it was the one she wanted! I made a couple of adjustments, and it turned out really well!

    First of all, the cake recipe itself is outstanding. It’s a moist, delicate, rich, chocolatey sponge. Secondly, the chocolate buttercream is very smooth and rich. I had no issues at all with graininess, you just have to follow the recipe and add the powdered sugar in gradually. I did double the buttercream recipe because I wanted to frost the whole cake with it. I had some left over; I think next time I will do 1.5x instead of doubling it. I read the reviews on how runny the ganache was, so instead of making a 1:1 ganache with equal parts chocolate chips and cream, I used 8 oz chocolate chips (by weight, probably a little over a cup) with the 3/4 C cream the recipe calls for. It was still a little runny, but I kept stirring it and let it cool at room temperature for about a half hour and it thickened up enough to make perfect drips down the side of the cake without puddling too much on the cake plate. Lastly, I dipped the strawberries on top in white and milk chocolate and swizzled them with the opposite color chocolate. It made for a very elegant presentation, and a fun little treat on top of each slice.

    Overall I think this recipe is fantastic, and the fresh strawberries really cut through the richness of the cake and buttercream and the ganache. It’s a new family favorite and I will be making it again!

  39. 4 stars
    Great concept, my only problem was the rise in the cakes… they were not as tall as the ones in the picture despite following the recipe precisely. More like halves of a sandwich cake. Texture very dense, too, but delicious! Frosting and ganache worked well 🙂 Overall I was very happy with result.

  40. This cake is amazing!! I loved it!! So delicious. Where would I store it though? Can I leave it out? Or do I need to stick it in the fridge?

  41. 5 stars
    Made this cake for Valentine’s Day and it was wonderful. Very moist. I ended up not making the ganache and just using the buttercream and extra strawberries worked out perfectly. Thank you!!

  42. 5 stars
    This cake was fantastic. I doubled it and made two 13×9 inch layers. The cake itself is super moist , and the frosting and ganache put it over the top! The strawberries were a great addition.

  43. Can I make bake one cake instead of two 9 inch pans ? and then slice it in the middle with a cake cutter ?
    would that need a change in the baking time ?

  44. 5 stars
    I used this recipe for cupcakes instead of a cake and they were so delicious! Very moist and chocolatey. The only thing I will say is that I baked mine for 15 minutes less than the recipe says and they were perfect. The first batch I did for 5 minutes less and they were very dry and crunchy around the edges.

  45. 5 stars
    Ok so this is my new favorite cake recipe. I used King Arthur’s GF flour instead of regular, and this cake was so fudgy and moist and not crumbly at all. It’s my new chocolate cake recipe, even without the buttercream and strawberries. Fave chocolate cake. Not even kidding.

  46. Thank you .. This recipe for the chocolate cake is by far the best one ever ! Super Moist, super tasty , and super easy !!!!!! I have tried many other recipes but this is really the best one . I make many other types of icings but I always use this for the cake . It’s simply amazing !!!

    1. Sure, let the cake layers cool completely. Wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze. For the frosting, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. Beat it again until fluffy and smooth!

  47. 4 stars
    I made this cake yesterday for my mother’s birthday – it was delicious! I baked it in two 8-inch round pans instead of 9-inch; they domed a bit in the oven but it was easily leveled. The cake is soft and moist, and the frosting thick and creamy. My only issue was with the ganache, which was a bit too thin to hold the strawberries on top, but I may have added too much cream. I’ll definitely make this again! Thanks for the great recipe!

    1. Did you happen to try the cake flour? I was going to make this next week for my daughter’s birthday and I had the same question

  48. 5 stars
    The tastiest chocolate cake! Very moist and rich. The strawberries tasted delicious with the chocolate. Thanks for the recipe!

  49. 5 stars
    This is AMAZING! I’m a terrible baker and my daughter and I decided to make this for her dad‘s birthday and it was amazingly easy and delicious!

    Adjustments: we used raspberries instead of strawberries. And we used one 9×13 metal pan. It cooked a bit quickly but came out perfectly. Then sliced it in half and made the layers. It came out almost EXACTLY (with raspberries) like the photo with this recipe. Never had that happen before!

  50. 3 stars
    The chocolate ganache does not turn out like pictured at all. Super runny and all gets absorbed by the cake, and completely dripped off the cake. It is no longer on the top of the cake, like, at all. Otherwise tastes good.

    I won’t be making this again though. Way too much work for just an okay cake.

  51. Hi. The cake smells great, I’m still baking it. However, there are large cracks on top and the middle is taking way too long to cook. I’ve been baking for an hour. I think the baking temperature and pre heating time is important when you’re cooking in a convection microwave oven. Please mention it if you can.

  52. I have to make this cake the night before it will be auctioned off the next mourning. Do I leave it out all night, or put it in the frig

    1. If you are adding the ganache the night before, keep it in the fridge. Or you can assemble the day of and keep it out.

  53. After baking the cake for 35 min the inside is still liquidy – i will keep it in the oven for another 15-20 min extra…..

  54. Incredible cake. I used the frosting between layers and skipped the ganache. So rich and delicious!

  55. Loved this delicious cake! I’d like to make it next time with cherry pie filling in the middle. Do you think that would work?

  56. Super gooey with a perfect combination of sweet & fruit. Best cake I think I’ve ever made! Everyone loved it!

  57. 5 stars
    Made in the U.K., so had to convert all the cup measurements, but it worked beautifully was absolutely delicious! I made it as one cake and cut in half (as I didn’t have two nine inch tins). I increased the cooking time by about 15 mins. Super gooey with a perfect combination of sweet and fruit! Thanks!

  58. I made this cake step
    By step . It was a very dense cake much like a mud cake . Flavour was nice but I wasn’t overly impressed by the texture .

  59. Great taste, only the ganache didn’t turn out as it should, somehow it was too thin although I used the exacly stated quantities.
    But, definitely would try it again and maybe with mix of berries.