Dark Chocolate Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

56 Ratings
  • 5 29
  • 4 13
  • 3 4
  • 2 1
  • 1 9
  • 56 Ratings

Brownie enthusiasts will adore this chocolate cake's rich texture, while strawberry fans will cheer for the buttery icing.

By Beth Kirby
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Gallery

Credit: Jennifer Davick

Recipe Summary

prep:
60 mins
bake:
30 mins at 350°
chill:
60 mins
Servings:
16
Nutrition Info
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Dark Chocolate Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

Ingredients

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 8x2-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper. Grease the paper; set pans aside. Bring water to boiling.

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  • In a very large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

  • In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir to just combine with a rubber spatula, scraping down the bottom of the bowl to make sure there's no dry bits (mixture will be thick). Pour in the boiling water and stir to just combine, scraping down bottom.

  • Divide batter between prepared pans, filling pans about 1/2 full (about 3 cups batter per pan). Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center of each comes out clean.

  • Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely. Before icing, wrap cooled cakes in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

  • Place a cake layer on serving platter. Frost layer with 2 cups buttercream. Repeat with remaining cake layers and frosting.

To make Ahead:

Prepare and frost cake as directed above. Loosely cover and chill in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving to allow the frosting to soften. If you like, prepare cake layers. Wrap or place in freezer containers. Freeze for up 1 month. Thaw and frost as directed.

Nutrition Facts (Dark Chocolate Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream)

Per Serving:
739 calories; total fat 47g; saturated fat 24g; polyunsaturated fat 4g; monounsaturated fat 16g; cholesterol 128mg; sodium 478mg; potassium 272mg; carbohydrates 77g; fiber 3g; sugar 59g; protein 8g; trans fatty acid 1g; vitamin a 1128IU; vitamin c 8mg; thiamin 0mg; riboflavin 0mg; niacin equivalents 1mg; vitamin b6 0mg; folate 46mcg; vitamin b12 0mcg; calcium 87mg; iron 2mg.

Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

Ingredients

Directions

  • In a very large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water continually whisk egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 160°F. Remove.

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  • Beat with a mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add butter, one Tbsp. at a time, until mixture thickens and becomes smooth and spreadable (If it begins to curdle, continue to beat, adding another piece of butter until smooth). Stir in vanilla bean seeds and vanilla.

  • In a food processor or blender, blend strawberries until smooth. Press through a fine mesh sieve. Stir strained strawberry mixture into the frosting.

Nutrition Facts (Fresh Strawberry Buttercream)

Per Serving:
6295 calories; total fat 553g; saturated fat 350g; polyunsaturated fat 21g; monounsaturated fat 143g; cholesterol 1463mg; sodium 1102mg; potassium 1196mg; carbohydrates 324g; fiber 4g; sugar 316g; protein 36g; trans fatty acid 22g; vitamin a 17029IU; vitamin c 127mg; thiamin 0mg; riboflavin 2mg; niacin equivalents 1mg; vitamin b6 0mg; folate 83mcg; vitamin b12 1mcg; calcium 221mg; iron 1mg.
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Reviews

56 Ratings
  • 5 29
  • 4 13
  • 3 4
  • 2 1
  • 1 9
Better Homes & Gardens Member
05/15/2017
This cake was fantastic. However, the frosting recipe makes about double the amount needed. I didn't have enough butter so I cut the recipe by 1/4 and found that it still was too much frosting. Now, don't get me wrong, the frosting is DELICIOUS, so it all was eaten. I just like a ratio that is heavier on the cake and less on the frosting. As for anyone who had a problem with the frosting, it must have been an issue of following the recipe. I followed it to a "t" and it came out perfectly. I did chill it for about 10 minutes before using to make sure it could hold the weight of the cake. I had no problems with that or making it. The cake was also excellent. It had a deep chocolate flavor and a nice, dense texture.
Better Homes & Gardens Member
02/13/2017
Absolutely delicious, but 1 slice is all I'm allowed, so sadly had to stop at that. (diabetic) I do substitute ingredients to make it easier for myself, e.g. Stevia for granulated sugar and you don't use the same amount as it is very sweet. Because the butter content was so much, again the limit I ate was small.
Better Homes & Gardens Member
05/06/2017
Everything turned out amazing however, there seemed to be some wording issues in the directions for the buttercream. When I made it, it was necessary to beat on high to make stiff peaks and to incorporate the butter. Using words like "continue to wisk" when the last instruction had been to "beat" just made things a little more confusing.I also needed to beat in the strawberry rather than just stir it.
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Better Homes & Gardens Member
03/29/2017
I'm with you Helen (reviewer). It really cannot be 6,295 calories per serving!? could it? That's insane!! It might be a typo -- or in European measurement -- not American. But it looks absolutely divine! I haven't tried it yet -- I'm going to make it for Easter dinner this year. The only step I'm wondering about is putting the blended strawberries through a sieve. Is this absolutely necessary?
Better Homes & Gardens Member
04/05/2015
My mom made this for our Easter dinner and dessert and we found that it was way too, too much. The cake was good but the frosting was awful. It was more like sweet butter with chunks of strawberries in it. If we did it again, I would cut the butter in half and use 1/2 the amount of egg whites. Then after this portion was mixed well (it is VERY DENSE) I would add powdered sugar until it was light and fluffy. I'm not certain that the recipe is correct in the magazine, or on the website. The flavor of the cake with the icing was not enjoyable at all. Actually, we threw it away (only 4 pieces were missing) after dinner. What a waste!
Better Homes & Gardens Member
01/31/2017
I have made this cake 3 times and it is absolutely delicious. I also disagree with a previous comment and suspect that steps for the frosting were skipped or altered. The first clue would be her comment that the frosting "was more like sweet butter with chunks of strawberries in it". The instructions for the frosting require you to press the blended strawberries through a fine mesh strainer which should leave you with no chunks whatsoever. The frosting is actually light and fluffy, not dense, and has a wonderful strawberry flavor. I highly recommend it - it has become one of our family favorites.
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Better Homes & Gardens Member
05/28/2015
We made this cake and it was DELICIOUS! The cake was super most and fudgey. We were all oohing and ahhing. I totally disagree with the previous comment re: the icing. It was SO GOOD! It better be with 6 cubes of butter though, right? All of us were licking our forks clean. The little basil leaves on top was a nice bonus of flavor. I definitely plan to make this cake again. In fact, we brought some to our neighbor who just had a baby and they came back raving about the cake!
Better Homes & Gardens Member
05/29/2016
Is that right, 6295 fat calories per serving? 1/16 of the cake!  OMG!!!
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