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Receta Chocolate Cake with Strawberries & Whipped Cream
by Maeghan Lovejoy

Happy Birthday Alan! Thursday was my husband’s birthday and I wanted to make something extra special. Since I have moved up here I’ve heard about his Aunt’s Chocolate Strawberry cake topped with whipped cream frosting. I’ve tried to get the recipe from her but it’s never happened. I finally figured I’d just wing it, using a great chocolate cake recipe, some fresh strawberries and whipped cream. I found a recipe for white chocolate whipped cream and figured I’d use that for the layers and the top of the cake as well.

As with anything in the kitchen, sometimes best laid plans don’t work out. I spent the entire morning whipping up the white chocolate whipped cream since it needed to set in the fridge for 2 hours and baking the cake. The cake takes a while to bake but it’s so worth it. I hadn’t tried the Cook’s Illustrated chocolate cake until today but heard great reviews from it. I’ve made the Hershey’s ”Perfectly” Chocolate Cake but wasn’t happy with the taste and texture. Of course everything was going smoothly until I tried to take the cakes out of the pans. I had greased, I had floured and I had run a knife around the edges, nothing! My husband came up with the idea to put them in a cold bath. I was frustrated so I told him to go ahead. Nope, just lodged them more! Of course it did, had I gone on the Internet and done some research before trying desperate measures! I read that sometimes leaving them in the pans for too long to cool and cause them to stick so I warmed them in the oven. By this time one cake was already a little disfigured but I finally got them out of the pan. They were too crumbly to attempt to cut them in half to create four layers so I just went with the standard two-layer cake. I used the excess white chocolate whipped cream to mold broken pieces of the cake back together and the whipped cream frosting to cover up any mistakes. No one knew the difference and I should have kept my mouth shut to family!

The end result was a delicious cake and a happy husband but I’m still going to attempt to do the four-layers in a couple of week so it doesn’t get the best of me I didn’t get to take a picture of the cake until it was half gone, so another reason to bake another cake!

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch-round by 2-inch-high cake pans with softened butter; dust pans with flour and knock out excess. Combine chocolate, cocoa powder, and hot water in medium heatproof bowl; set bowl over saucepan containing 1 inch of simmering water and stir with rubber spatula until chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. Add ½ cup sugar to chocolate mixture and stir until thick and glossy, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Combine buttermilk and vanilla in small bowl. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk eggs and yolks on medium-low speed until combined, about 10 seconds. Add remaining 1¼ cups sugar, increase speed to high, and whisk until fluffy and lightened in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Replace whisk with paddle attachment. Add cooled chocolate mixture to egg/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed until thoroughly incorporated, 30 to 45 seconds, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add softened butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing about 10 seconds after each addition. Add about one-third of flour mixture followed by half of buttermilk mixture, mixing until incorporated after each addition (about 15 seconds). Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture (batter may appear separated). Scrape down sides of bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans; smooth batter to edges of pan with spatula.

Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes, then invert onto wire rack. Cool cakes to room temperature before frosting, 45 to 60 minutes.

White Chocolate Whipped Cream

6 oz. white chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

Heat the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stirring occasionally. When the chocolate is almost melted, bring 1/2 cup of the cream to a boil. Once melted, remove from heat and pour in the hot cream and let it sit for one minute. Stir gently with a spatula until the chocolate is smooth. Let the chocolate sit until it reaches room temperature. The chocolate must be cooled to room temperature before added to the whipped cream.

Beat 1 cup of cream until it holds the softest peaks. With the mixer on high speed, add the white chocolate all at once and continue to beat just until the mixture holds firm peaks. Transfer the cream to a bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap gently against the surface and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Whipped Cream Frosting

1 cup cold heavy cream

4 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Chill your mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for a few minutes. It’s always best to start with a cold bowl to ensure the cream whips nicely. Beat the cream, sugar and vanilla extract until the cream starts to thicken. Always start on a lower speed and increase the speed as you go, but be careful to not over beat. Beat until stiff peaks form.

To assemble the cake cut each 9in cake in half, horizontally. Take on of the cakes and place it on your plate, cut side up. Spread white chocolate whipped cream and fresh strawberries on top. Repeat this until your final layer. Place the last cake layer on top cut side down and spread your whipped cream frosting on top, garnish with fresh strawberries.

Source: Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake, Cook’s Illustrated; White Chocolate Whipped Cream and Whipped Cream from Baking:From My Home to Yours