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Strawberries and Cream Chocolate Cake is your new favorite chocolate cake recipe. A single layer moist chocolate cake with a hint of espresso, topped with whipped cream, and macerated strawberries. This chocolate cake recipe is sure to be your new favorite dessert!
For more chocolate cake recipes, try my chocolate pudding cake and chocolate ganache cake!
I’ve always had an interesting relationship with chocolate. Sometimes I love it, other times I hate – super finicky. However, one thing that I’ve always enjoyed is a good chocolate cake. Specifically, a soft, slight rich, and fluffy chocolate cake.
That’s exactly what this cake is – super moist, tender, chocolatey without being overbearing, and flavored with a tiny hint of espresso. Not to mention, the whipped cream topping with strawberries?! This recipe is like having a chocolate covered strawberry in the form of a cake.
it’s no secret, i love to bake
It’s not secret that here at Britney Breaks Bread, I love to bake. Everything from cake to cookies to biscuits to bread, I love it all. This Strawberries and Cream Chocolate Cake may be my new favorite baking recipe. It’s not only easy, but it’s freaking delicious!
I’ve been loving everything with berries as of late. Between my mixed berry shortcakes and strawberry shortcake cake, this cake is no different! This time however, it’s berries and chocolate cake. Sounds yum right?! Not to mention, the strawberries that I picked up from Balducci’s over the weekend were so sweet and perfectly ripe, I couldn’t resist pairing them with this chocolate cake to make the ultimate desserts.
how do you keep chocolate cake moist?
There are two rules of thumb that I think are absolutely necessary for keeping cake moist – add fats (oil, butter, sour cream etc) and do not over bake your cake! Of course there’s more that goes into it, but here’s where you start.
Also, be sure not to over mix your cake. I know that I say this with every single cake recipe that I have on the blog, but it’s so critical. How do you know if you’ve over mixed your cake? If when you take a spoon of batter and drizzle it into the bowl and it’s formed more of a dough, it’s over mixed. The batter should be somewhat loose and able to be drizzled. If not, the cake may be a bit tough and dry.
how do you make strawberries and cream chocolate cake?
So, start with the cake. Simply mix together dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another. Then combine the two. Mix together hot milk and espresso powder and add that to the batter (this helps hydrate the flour which makes for a flavorful and moist cake). Fold the hot milk and espresso into the batter and then pour batter into a greased/parchment lined baking pan and bake for 40 minutes.
While the cake is baking, cut up some strawberries and add sugar and lemon juice. Toss together and put in the refrigerator. Then make some whipped cream simply by beating together sugar, heavy whipping cream, and vanilla extract. Add to the refrigerator until ready to use.
Once the cake is finished, allow it to cool completely (do not skip this step. if the cake is hot, the whipped cream will liquify and the cake will be soggy – yikes!). Layer whipped cream on top and add the strawberries on top. Garnish with mint if you like!
craving more strawberry recipes?
- Strawberry Cake with Champagne Buttercream
- Blood Orange Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Rose Streusel
- Strawberry Rose Maple Syrup Cake with Champagne Buttercream
craving more chocolate recipes?
- Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
- Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Donut Cake
- Chocolate Toffee Pretzel Cookies
- Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
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If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and comment below! You can also tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can celebrate your beautiful creations!
Strawberries and Cream Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- 9-inch cake pan
- hand mixer (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1/2 cup neutral oil (I used extra light olive oil)
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Milk, hot
- 2 tsps Espresso Powder
Strawberries
- 15-20 medium Strawberries, cut in half
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1/2 Lemon, squeezed (about 1 tbsp)
Whipped Cream
- 2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease a 9-inch round baking pan and/or line with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, oil and vanilla extract until smooth. Add to dry ingredients and fold together until fully incorporated and no dry spots are in the batter.
- In a cup or a small bowl, heat 1/2 cup of milk in the microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, until slightly hot. Add espresso powder and whisk together. Pour into cake batter and continue to mix together until batter is uniform.
- Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- While cake is baking, cut up strawberries and pour sugar and lemon juice on top. Toss together and add to the refrigerator. Then make the whipped cream by adding heavy whipping cream and sugar to a large bowl and beating until stiff peaks form. (about 2-3 minutes) Fold in vanilla extract and pinch of salt and add to refrigerator until ready to use.
- Once cake is done, let the cake cool for 5 minutes then remove the cake from the pan. Allow it to cool completely. Then add whipped cream and strawberries on top. Garnish with mint, optional
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This was a stunner for Mother’s Day! I wanted to make something new that was simple to pull together but looked just as good as it tasted, and this was it!
I’m so happy to hear that! Happy Belated Mother’s Day!
Chocolate cake, strawberries and cream always complement each other so well. This cake was sweet, moist and full of flavour! I’ll definitely be making this again.
Made this to bring to a dinner party over the weekend and everyone LOVED it. The chocolate cake was perfect. Will definitely be making this again.
Yay! I’m so glad that this recipe was a hit!
I love this cake in that it is as pretty to look at as it is delicious. It made the perfect cake for a family celebration this week. As I am not much of a decorator, this simple decorated cake was so pretty with little fuss.
Thanks Mireille! I’m not the best cake decorator either so I try to keep things simple! I’m so happy that you enjoyed this recipe!
This cake was as beautiful as it was delectable! Because I prefer lighter desserts, the juxtaposition of the whipped cream and berries with the cake was perfect.
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you!
What a wonderful recipe. My chocolate cake was extremely moist and delicious. I can’t wait to make this again.
Music to my ears! So glad that you enjoyed this recipe!
I took your advice and did not overmix my cake batter and was sure to add an ample amount of fat. It turned out DELISH! Thanks for the recipe and tips!
Anytime, thank you for giving this recipe a try!
I absolutely loved this cake. The flavors complemented each other so well!
I’m So happy to hear this!
Hi Britney! I haven’t made this recipe yet but hope to soon. Question for you: would instant coffee granules work in place of espresso powder? I have instant coffee granules in my pantry already, so wanted to get your thoughts. Thanks so much!
Hi Anna! I think that the instant coffee granules would definitely work, I would just ensure that they’re completely dissolved prior to adding to the cake batter to prevent the cake from being gritty! I hope that you love this recipe!
I wanted to let you know that the instant coffee worked well! I’ve already made this delicious recipe twice 🙂 thank you!
You’re so welcome! I’m so glad to hear this!!
Chocolate, strawberries & cream? You literally cant go wrong making this! I am not an avid baker at all, but this recipe was easy to follow and it turned out SO GOOD! Don’t be like me and make sure to COMPLETELY cool the cake before adding the whipped cream. I thought it was cool enough and it was not at all and ended up melting the whipped cream a bit.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Cassie! I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe even in spite of the melted cream!