CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRY CAKE: A VALENTINE’S GIFT!

 Valentine’s Day: hearts and flowers and chocolate covered strawberries!

This year I decided to see if I could capture all the goodness of a chocolate covered strawberry in a cake.  Layers of strawberry flavored cake, luscious strawberry jam, a dusting of sweet and salty crumb, all surrounded by a rich and luxurious chocolate ganache.

I also wanted a cake a homecook could make without special equipment or ingredients.

So, this recipe comes complete with shortcuts!  You can make the cake from scratch, or you can use a box mix.  I made a quick and easy strawberry jam but you could just as easily opt for a high-quality store-bought jam.  Chocolate ganache sounds fancy but it’s one of the easiest frostings to make.

My first hurdle was the cake.

It needs to be easy to make and taste like strawberries.  I have a good white cake recipe but I wanted to see if a box cake mix would work as well.  And I discovered that, while you can use a box mix, the cake will not hold up to all the additions as well as a “doctored” box mix.

Research came up with a great many things which people add to the box mix to make it better.  I ended up with an “everything plus the kitchen sink” method. Of course if you do it my way it’s almost like making it from scratch.  Feel free to take a box mix, follow the directions and add strawberry powder to it for the easiest way to go!

After sorting out the cake, I needed to come up with a good way to make it strawberry. I tried fresh strawberries but they add too much liquid. Then, I tried strawberry extract and that’s a no.  (Extracts are rarely as good as the real flavor) Finally I landed on freeze dried strawberries.  Put them in a blender or a processor and whizz them right down to strawberry dust.  Real strawberry flavor without the water!

Make the cake.

The first thing to know is that you will NOT be following the directions on the back of the box.  In fact, take the mix out of the box and throw the box away.

Make the batter by stirring together the cake mix, some flour, some sugar and a little salt in a medium bowl.  Next add all the other ingredients, except the strawberry powder, and stir them together until they are well mixed. Finally fold in the strawberry powder.

Fold in the strawberry powder being sure to breay up any clumps

Pour the batter equally into two 8” cake pans which have been oiled and dusted with flour and lined on the bottom with parchment paper.

Along the way to making this cake I discovered this wonderful item.  These are called “Bake Even Strips”.  Mine are made by Wilton.  You wet them and wrap them around the outside of the cake pans.  They help distribute the heat more evenly so that the cake rises without forming a dome in the center.

I got these strips on Amazon. There are a number of different types available

This method makes more batter than the cake mix by itself.   That’s okay.  The added height will only make your finished cake look better. But it also means that the baking time is slower and a little longer.  Follow my bake time, not the time on the back of the box.

The layers will be higher than usual. You can use them as they are or really go crazy and cut them in half for a four layer cake!

Let the cake cool and get on with the other components.

Make a “soak”

Chefs will often brush the top of the cake layers with a flavored liquid.  This helps moisten the cake.  And of course it also adds flavor! Strawberries tossed in sugar will release their juices.   Use the juice for your soak.  (The strawberries make a nice topping for ice cream if you are so inclined).

I let me strawberries sit in sugar overnight and got about 1/2 cup of liquid.

Make the crumb.

A crumb gives texture and bite to the cake.  In this case, it’s made of a flour and sugar baked mixture.

Make the strawberry jam.

Hull and chop a pound of strawberries.  Put them in a pan with a half a cup of sugar and the lemon juice over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has melted.  Bring it to a boil and let boil until it reaches 220 degrees or it drops off the side of a spoon in a sheet (or thick droplet).

Initially you shouldn’t stir it at all but towards the end, you may need to stir it to keep it from burning on the sides and bottom of the pot. Pour it into a bowl and let it cool.

You can do all this day before if you like.

Make the chocolate ganache icing.

Literally the hardest thing about this is waiting until it is cool enough to whip.  Heat cream to almost boiling and pour it over chopped, good-quality, chocolate in a bowl.  Let it cool to room temperature and whip it to a thick cream texture.

Whiipping the ganache makes it thick and creamy.

Assemble the cake.

I made the cake the day before.  This allows me to freeze it overnight. Which in turn lets me remove from the board I iced it on (which is messy with chocolate) and place it on a clean board for presentation. It also frees up the day for other fun Valentine’s Day activities!

Start with the bottom layer.  Use a brush to brush on some of the soaking liquid.

Then pipe an outline of chocolate ganache around the outer edge of the cake.  Fill in the center generously with strawberry jam.

Finally sprinkle the crumb over the icing and place the second layer on top.

Repeat with the second layer.  But this time, pipe chocolate ganache over the top of the jam as well as around it. Then finish the sides.

Piping the icing over the jam makes it easier to spread without pulling the jam up

Garnish the cake with a dusting of cake crumb and chocolate covered strawberries.

Eat the Cake.

Print

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRY CAKE

Author Susan Murray, www.awomancooksinasheville.com

Ingredients

• FOR THE CAKE
• 1 box white cake mix 15 oz
• 1 c flour
• 1 c sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/3 c milk
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 c sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 package freeze dried strawberries 1.2 oz
• FOR THE CRUMB
• ½ c sugar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar packed
• 3/4 c cake flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ c canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• FOR THE STRAWBERRY JAM optional
• 1 quart strawberries
• ½ c sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
• 1 ½ c heavy cream
• 12 oz dark chocolate at least 50-55% cocoa solids
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. MAKE THE CAKE

2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
3. Grease 2 8” cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
4. Combine the cake mix, flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a mixer and stir together. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and sour cream to the dry ingredients and stir until everything is evenly mixed.
5. Put the freeze-dried strawberries in the bowl of a food processor or blender and process until it is powdered.
6. Fold the strawberry powder into the batter until evenly distributed.
7. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 55-60 minutes until the cakes are pulling away from the sides of the pans and a tester comes out clean. The internal temperature should reach 200 degrees on an instant read thermometer.
8. Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

9. MAKE THE CRUMB

10. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
11. Combine all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a mixer. Stir on low until mixed. Add the oil and vanilla. Increase the speed to medium until the batter starts to come together in large clumps.
12. Pour the batter onto a parchment lined sheet, breaking up any overly large clumps.
13. Bake for 20 minutes until just starting to brown. Stir once during the baking.
14. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

15. MAKE THE STRAWBERRY JAM

16. This is optional. You can use a good quality store-bought jam if you prefer
17. Hull the strawberries and chop them coarsely. (Can also be done in a food processor)
18. Put the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Let it boil until the jam has thickened. This can take 10-30 minutes depending on the size of the pan. It is done when it reaches 220 on a candy thermometer and/or it drops off the side of a spoon in a thick drop (or sheet).
19. Transfer to a jar or bowl and allow to cool. Store in the refrigerator

20. MAKE THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

21. Coarsely chop the chocolate and put it in a heat proof bowl.
22. Heat the cream until it is almost boiling. Pour it over the chocolate.
23. Let it stand for five minutes. Add the salt and whisk until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth.
24. Let the chocolate cool until it is room temperature. About 2 hours.
25. Once the chocolate is cooled, use a mixer to whip it until it is thickened and holds a stiff peak.

26. ASSEMBLE THE CAKE

27. Place the bottom layer on a cake board or plate. Brush 2-3 tablespoons of the soaking liquid over the top. Pipe a ring of chocolate ganache around the outer edge of the top. Spread ½ to ¾ of a cup of strawberry jam in the center of the chocolate ring. Sprinkle the cake crumb all over the top of the jam.
28. Place the second layer on top of the first. Brush the top with soaking liquid. Spread strawberry jam over the top of the cake. Pipe chocolate ganache over the jam and use a spatula to even it out. Spread the remaining chocolate on the sides of the cake. Finish with a sprinkling of crumb over the chocolate. Garnish the finished cake with chocolate covered strawberries.