Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Recipe That’s Beyond Simple

Looking for an easy Valentine’s Day cake that’ll make the perfect gift? This chocolate covered strawberry cake is insanely delicious and beyond simple for a new baker! 

Valentine’s day and chocolate-covered strawberries go hand in hand, so it just makes sense to make a beloved v-day treat into the perfect cake! 

This cake starts with fresh strawberry cake layers that’s filled with strawberry buttercream and rich chocolate ganache. Then it’s completed with more strawberry buttercream, chocolate ganache dripping down the sides of the cake, and chocolate-covered strawberries on top! 

The strawberry cake is made with fresh strawberries, but you can also use frozen strawberries that are thawed. These frozen berries are picked at their peak of ripeness, so they still make for a delicious cake. 

The strawberries are pureed with strawberry jam and buttermilk, so it makes the best strawberry flavor. I also added a few drops of super red gel food coloring just to make sure the cake stayed pink when it baked; otherwise, it bakes a dull beige color losing its bright red. 

The buttercream is made with a strawberry gel that packs a punch of berry flavor. The strawberries are cooked down to a thick gelatin-like consistency, so it doesn’t change the texture of the buttercream. It allows the buttercream to stay thick! 

Then the chocolate ganache is so rich and smooth and perfect for dripping down the sides of the cake! 

Finally, adding the chocolate covered strawberries on top makes for the most natural cake design! 

Tips for Success: 

• Read through all the ingredients and instructions so you can get a better idea of how much time and what you need to make this cake.
• A single batch of this cake recipe makes three, 6-inch round cake layers or two 8-inch round cake layers. Double the cake recipe to make enough cake batter for three, 8-inch cake layers.
• In this cake recipe, you need ½ cup buttermilk; if you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can easily use ½ cup whole milk mixed with 1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar to make your own. 
• Be careful not to overmix this cake batter, or else the cake will come out dense. Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
• You can bake the cake layers ahead of time. Wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze up to one month. 
• You can make the buttercream a day ahead and refrigerate it overnight. Then take them out to come back to room temperature. Make sure the buttercream is at room temperature before re-whipping.

What Tools You’ll Need to Make This Cake: 

• 5-quart, Stand Mixer with mixing bowl & paddle attachment
• 3, 6-inch cake pans or 2, 8-inch cake pans
• Offset spatula 
• 8-inch or 10-inch white cake board 
• Serrated knife or cake leveler 
• Turntable 
• Cake scraper or bench scraper
• Whisk or sifter
• Rubber Spatula
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray and Parchment Paper
• Ice Cream Scooper with Trigger Release (for dividing cake batter evenly)
• Cake Stand, optional
• Food processor 
• Squeeze bottle

Here’s how to make this Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake that’s perfect for newbies! 

Let’s Get Baking! 

How to Make Light & Fluffy Strawberry Cake 

1. Preheat oven to 325 °F. Spray three 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
2. In a food processor, pulse fresh or frozen strawberries for 1 minute until cut into small pieces, then add strawberry jam and buttermilk, pulse until combined. Set aside. 
3. In a medium-size bowl, whisk and stir together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 
4. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on medium-high for 5 minutes.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time to the stand mixer bowl and beat on medium until well incorporated.
6. Turn the mixer on low and add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture then add buttermilk. Add in the remaining flour mixture and until fully incorporated. 
7. Pour in the strawberry mixture, vanilla extract, lemon juice and zest. Mix on medium for another 30 seconds and add a few drops of super red gel food coloring. Mix until combined, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
8. Evenly distribute the cake batter among the three cake pans and bake for about 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
9. Remove cakes from oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks to cool completely. Wrap cakes in plastic wrap and place into the freezer to chill for at least 30 minutes. 

How to Make Strawberry Gel 

1. In a small saucepot, add the fresh or frozen strawberries. Place pot over medium heat for 5-10 minutes to bring to a boil and break down the berries occasionally stir to prevent from burning on the bottom. 
2. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water. Mix with a spoon until the mixture is lump-free. Add the mixture to the boiling strawberries, stirring constantly. 
3. Add lemon zest to the strawberry mixture should be opaque and thick. Once thick, remove from the heat and place into the freezer to cool quickly. 

How to Make Rich Chocolate Ganache

1. Add semi-sweet chocolate chips to a small microwavable bowl. In another small microwavable bowl, heat the heavy cream to a light simmer for about 1 minute. 
2. Pour hot, heavy cream over chocolate chips. Allow chocolate to melt for 1 minute. Use a whisk or rubber spatula to mix the chocolate and cream. Mix until its velvety smooth. If chocolate is still not melted, heat in the microwave in 15-second increments. 

How to Make Creamy Strawberry Buttercream 

1. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Turn the mixer to low and add the cold strawberry gel, salt, and vanilla. 
3. Next, gradually add powdered sugar, followed by the cream. Mix on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
4. Before using turn the mixer on low and mix for 2 minutes to push out any air bubbles or use a rubber spatula to push out the air bubbles. (You may need to repeat this step when frosting the outside of the cake). 

How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries 

1. In a small bowl, melt chocolate chips in 30-second increments until fully melted. Then add coconut oil to make chocolate smoother and easy to dip the strawberries in the next step. 
2. Next, make sure the strawberries are totally dry, hold the fruit careful by the green stem and dip the strawberry ¾ of the way into the chocolate. Then gently scrape excess chocolate off the bottom of the strawberry on the side of the bowl. 
3. Place the dipped strawberries onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Set aside. Continue to dip 8-10 strawberries. Place the tray into the refrigerator to set the chocolate. 

How to Put It Altogether

1. Remove the cake layers from the freezer and unwrap the cake layers. Next, use a serrated knife to cut off the dome of the cakes to make the layers flat and even. 
2. Add a small amount of buttercream onto the center of the cake board. Layer one strawberry cake, cut side up onto cake board. Add a 2/3 cup of strawberry buttercream over the cake using an offset spatula to spread buttercream and make it even. 
3. Then drizzle chocolate ganache over the buttercream. Place another cake layer cut side down over the top. 
4. Repeat the process for another layer — Crumb coat with strawberry buttercream and freeze for 30 minutes. 
5. Add a thicker layer of buttercream to the cold cake. Use an offset spatula and cake scraper to make the sides as smooth as possible. Then place back into the fridge to set the buttercream for 10 minutes. 
6. Reheat chocolate ganache if needed for 10 seconds at a time. Then start at the top edge of the cake drip the chocolate down the sides of the cake. Use different pressure on the squeeze bottle to create different lengths of the drips. 
7. Then open the squeeze bottle and pour chocolate ganache on top of the cake and use an offset spatula to smooth out the ganache. 
8. Place the chocolate-covered strawberries on top to complete the cake! Serve at room temperature and enjoy! 

You May Also Enjoy: 

• How to Make Perfect Cake Pops (free training) 
• How to Cut & Serve Cake (free guide)
• Common Baking Mistakes & How to Avoid Them (free ebook) 
• Cake Decorating for Beginners (online course)
• Cake Decorating Tool Kit (24-piece kit with free shipping) 

I am so excited for you to make this chocolate covered strawberry cake that is beyond simple for newbies! Make this cake for your Valentine, and you won’t regret it! 

 I genuinely believe that all bakers can make this cake even beginner bakers. If you are willing to try, you’ll succeed! 

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at xokatierosario@gmail.com, and I look forward to seeing your Valentine’s Day creations! 

Happy Baking! 

Hey, if you liked this tutorial, you really should check out, Cake Decorating Creator Program, my online cake course. I coach you on everything I teach on these cake tutorials so that you can uplevel your baking and decorating skills. We 10x it so you get the results you want most. Like any new skill, it’s important to learn from the ground up to build a foundation, so take on any cake challenge. It is an investment your future self will thank you for. Check it out at XOKatieRosario.com/online-cake-course. I will see you there.

Watch The How-to Video Below: 

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