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I really enjoy baking. With the holiday season just around the corner, I like to bake different cakes and pies to share with friends and family. This recipe is a basic chocolate cake decorated with light and airy, freshly whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Chocolate and strawberries are a match made in heaven. This chocolate cake recipe is my favorite. It is a bit non-traditional since it does not use eggs or butter. Frankly, the cake recipe alone is a vegan recipe but it is my favorite kind of chocolate cake. It turns out very light and fluffy and has a really nice texture. This cake is easy to make and looks very impressive at a party or get-together. Do give it a go, especially if you are a chocolate addict like me.
Prep. time: 20 minutes, Cook time: 30 minutes, Decorating time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
For the cake:
3 cups All-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup special dark 100% cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup canola oil
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 cups boiling water
2 tsp vanilla extract
For the decoration:
1 pint fresh cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 drops of red food coloring (optional)
10-15 strawberries
1 tbsp sugar
8 to 10 Chocolate mint leaves
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, sift flour and cocoa powder. Add sugar, baking soda and salt and mix all the dry ingredients together.
Add canola oil, vanilla extract and boiling water. As soon as the boiling water is added, mix the batter with a spatula using the cut and fold method. Once the batter starts coming together, add the vinegar and continue cutting and folding to get an even mixture. Do not over mix.
Grease two 8 inch circular cake tins. Divide the batter equally between the two tins and place in pre-heated oven, preferably on the same oven rack so that the cakes cook evenly. Cake should take 30 minutes to bake but the cooking time will vary based on the oven type. Starting checking the cake after 25 minutes and if a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, pull it out of the oven.
While cake is baking, prepare the strawberries and whipped cream. Using an electric or manual whisk, whip the fresh cream. After 2 minutes of whipping, add the powdered sugar and food coloring (optional - this gives a light pink color to the cream) to the cream. Continue whipping until the cream forms soft peaks. Do not over-whip or the cream will turn into butter.
Slice the strawberries and mix with 1 tbsp sugar. Let these sit for 10 minutes till the strawberries start releasing their juices and look glossy.
After the cakes are baked, pull them out of the oven and let them sit in their tins for 5 minutes. After that, remove from tins and allows cakes to cool down completely. The cakes can also be placed in a refrigerator briefly to cool them down.
Once the cakes are completely cool, place one of them on a serving plate. Add about 1/2 cup of the whipped cream on top of this cake and spread evenly on the surface. Arrange a layer of sliced strawberries over the cream so that it is completely covered.
Place the other cake over the layer of strawberries. You can use dowels to secure the two cake layers if you want.
Use a generous amount of the whipped cream to cover the outside of the two layer cake. Use a spatula to spread the cream evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Don't worry about the outside looking very smooth. You can even leave the sides a bit bare to get a naked cake effect. I used a fork to create a pattern around the top of the cake.
Decorate the top of the cake with the rest of the sliced strawberries and chocolate mint leaves. Alternatively, decorate with chocolate chips, sprinkles, pieces of candy or anything you fancy.
Make this cake the centerpiece of your next dinner party and impress your guests!
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