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My chocolate strawberry cake features a rich fudgy chocolate cake topped with fresh strawberry frosting. This delicious recipe tastes like your favorite Valentine's Day treat in cake form!

I love chocolate cake and always looking for an excuse to make it. We've previously shared Death by Chocolate Cake, Reese's Cake, and Smores cake. For Mother's Day I recently made this Chocolate Covered Strawberry cake and it is my favorite yet! Seve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or a tall glass of milk.

Why Our Recipe Is the Best: A Sprinkle of Food Science

It Uses Oil Instead of Butter: Oil is 100% fat unlike butter which contains around 20% water. It is also liquid at room temperature which keeps the cake moist for days even if stored in the fridge!
It Has Fresh Strawberry Frosting: This tastes so much better than anything artificial flavoring!
It Uses Sour Cream and Buttermilk: These contain both acid and fat which coats the flour for a tender cake. The acid also reacts with baking soda (a base) for a fluffy light crumb.

Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips

ingredients including flour, cocoa powder, eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, espresso, butter, strawberries, and chocolate chips.

Strawberries: Look for strawberries that are bright red all the way to their leaves with a strong aroma. The leaves should look fresh not wilted. Always be sure to blot them dry with a paper towel so they don't add too much moisture to your frosting.
- Avoid frozen strawberries if possible as they release more water when they're thawed which can make the frosting runny.
Cocoa Powder: I like using Hershey's Special Dark. It gives a deep dark almost black color but with a smooth and not overly bitter flavor. You can substitute any Dutch Cocoa you like here.
Sour Cream: Use full fat sour cream. Low fat or fat free versions won't perform the same.
Chocolate Chips: I like Ghiradelli as they taste great and melt smoothly. You could also use an equal amount chopped baking chocolate.
Buttermilk: If you don't have any on hand you can add one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to one up of milk. Allow to sit for 3-5 minutes or until "curdled".
Butter: For the frosting I suggest unsalted softened butter. It should be soft enough that you can make an indent with your finger, but not melted or greasy. An hour on the counter works in my kitchen!
Espresso: Don't worry this doesn't make it taste like coffee. Coffee and chocolate have many of the same flavor compounds and it really helps bring out that cocoa flavor.
Eggs: Bring eggs to room temperature to help them mix in smoothly. 30-60 minutes on the counter is perfect. Forgot? Place in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for a few minutes.

a 4 image collage showing how to frost, layer, and add chocolate ganache to a chocolate strawberry cake.

Krystle's Tips: Steal My Culinary School Secrets

Don't Overmix: Overmixing can overdevelop the gluten leading to a tough, gummy cake. Mix until the flour just disappears.
Weigh Your Layers: I am terrible at eyeballing batter. I divide my batter evenly by weight using a kitchen scale.
Don't Overbake: It's okay if you see a few moist crumbs on your tooth pick as long as you don't see wet batter. If the toothpick is clean it may be overbaked and dry.
Apply a Crumb Coat: After you have the layers stacked apply a thin coat of frosting on the tops and sides of the cake and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. This seals in the crumbs for a gorgeous final layer.
Gorgeous Finish: To get my frosting super smooth and even I use a cake turntable with an offset spatula.
Avoid Water: Make sure your bowl and whisk for the ganache don't have any water. Even a few drops can cause the chocolate to seize.