Chocolate cake with strawberry recipe

This chocolate and strawberry cake is gooey, fruity and gorgeously chocolatey.

Our chocolate and strawberry cake has a light and tasty cocoa sponge, topped and layered with a rich ganache glaze - and decorated with fresh strawberries and strawberry slices. You can whip this chocolate sponge cake up in 50 minutes. Just allow it time to cool before adding the icing. Savour every bite with a cuppa or serve as a dessert with an extra drizzle of cream.

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 4 level tbsp cocoa powder
• 125g (4oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 100g bar dark chocolate, melted
• Few drops of vanilla extract
• 350g (12oz) dark muscovado sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 300g (10oz) plain flour
• ½ x 200ml carton crème fraîche

For the ganache topping and filling:

• 300ml carton whipping cream
• 200g bar dark chocolate
• Few drops of vanilla extract
• 250-350g (8-12oz) strawberries

You will also need:

• 2 x 20cm (8in) round sandwich tins, buttered and base lined

Method

1. Set the oven to 180°C or Gas Mark 4. Tip the cocoa powder into a bowl and pour over 175ml (6fl oz) boiling water and stir until smooth.
2. Beat together the butter, melted chocolate and vanilla extract, and then beat in the sugar and the cocoa mixture. Whisk until it’s smooth, then add the eggs, one at a time, along with a spoonful of flour per egg. Beat in the crème fraîche and chocolate mixture and fold in the remaining flour. Divide the mixture between the prepared cake tins.
3. Bake the cakes in the centre of the oven for 30-35 mins,until the cakes have risen and are just firm to the touch in the centre. Remove them from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for about 5 mins before turning them out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. To make the ganache filling and topping: Bring the cream to the boil, then pour it over the broken-up chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts. Add the vanilla extract. Leave the mixture to cool and thicken to a spreading consistency, stirring it occasionally so that it cools evenly (this process can be speeded up by placing the bowl in a fridge when it’s cold enough).
5. Slice some strawberries for the filling and halve some for the top.
6. Spread half of the ganache over one of the cakes and arrange sliced strawberries on top. Place the other cake on top and then spread over the remaining ganache, allowing it to run slightly over the top edge of the cake. Decorate with the halved strawberries. To freeze: The undecorated cakes may be packed in freezer bags and frozen for up to 1 month. Allow them to defrost before filling and decorating.

Top tip for making this chocolate cake with strawberries

We’ve topped this treat with strawberries, but other berries could work equally as well.

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