- Prep Time: 1h
- Cook Time: 20m
- Total Time: 1h 20m
- Serves: 12
- Category: Cakes, Pastries and desserts
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 4 ounces (113g) semi-sweet chocolate
- 4 ounces (114g) butter
- 1 cup (230g) granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs (about 300g)
- 1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (20g) cocao powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For simple syrup
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon strawberry flavor concentrate (optional)
For whipped cream filling:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 6 tablespoons icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pint strawberries, cut into 1/8-inch slice. More berries (blueberry, raspberry, etc) to decorate around the cake.
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Heat oven to 350Fº. Prepare five 6-inch cake pans (refer to post to see what pan set I used), lightly spray with baking spray.
- Put chocolate and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl, heat in microwave for 30 seconds, mix, then heat for another 20 seconds, mix again, until all melted, add 10 seconds' increments if needed. While the mixture is hot, add sugar, and mix until all the sugar is dissolved. Add eggs to the mixture, and whisk until all incorporated.
- Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt over the liquid mixture, whisk until no white flour is visible. The batter will look quite runny, and this is normal. Divide the batter into five 6-inch round cake pans, bake for 18-21 minutes until the centers of the cakes bounce back when lightly pressed. When cakes are done, leave them in the pan for 5 minutes, then lightly sprinkle powdered sugar or cocoa powder on top and reverse the pan onto a cooling rack and let the cake rest on a cooling rack for about 2 hours before icing.
To make simple syrup:
- Mix water and sugar in a 1-cup microwave-safe measuring cup, microwave for about 1 minute until sugar is dissolved. Add strawberry extract if desired.
To make whipped cream filling:
- Put heavy cream in a cold mixing bowl, using hand or electric mixer with whisk attachment beat until soft peak, stop the machine, add icing sugar and vanilla extract, beat again until stiff peak. (Please refer to the post about how to achieve a perfect consistency for filling a layer cake)
To assemble the cake:
- Cut strawberries into 1/8-inch slices. Spread strawberry slices on a piece of paper towel to absorb any excess moisture.
- Brush the cakes with simple syrup. On a 6-inch cake board add some whipped cream and lay the first cake on top. Put whipped cream into a piping bag fit with a 1M tip, pipe from the edge of the cake to the center. Lay strawberry slices on top, lay another layer of the cake on top, Repeat until the 5th cake. Pipe a generous amount of the whipped cream on the top of the cake, decorate with a couple of whole strawberries and blueberries on top and around the base of the cake.
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