Strawberry Chocolate Anniversary Cake

By Shaheen Serajee

This cake is layered with a lightly sweetened whipped cream and a fresh strawberry reduction. It's light and seasonal. If you like, you can prepare the cake layers and the strawberry Cointreau reduction in advance. When you are ready to serve the cake, whip the cream and assemble the layers.

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This little cake is baked in two 5 inch cake pans, perfectly sized for a first year anniversary celebration. I have made the chocolate cake many times, sometimes with chocolate, and sometimes with vanilla frosting. This time I wanted something a bit fresher to go with the Chocolate Party theme for this month, strawberries. Why not whipped cream? Strawberries and cream on a little devil's food cake.

Ingredients

1/4 C natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ounce milk chocolate, chopped

1/4 C boiling water

1/4 C buttermilk (I used 1 T. buttermilk powder plus 2 ounces of water)

2/3 C cake flour (I used King Arthur Flour's unbleached cake flour blend)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 C dark brown sugar

1/4 C sugar

1/4 C oil

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Butter two 5 inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment. Butter the parchment. 
3. Mix the cocoa powder and milk chocolate in a small bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Whisk to combine. Add the buttermilk. If using dried buttermilk, add 2 ounces of water. 
4. Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk powder if using, together in a medium bowl. 
5. In a large bowl, beat the sugars, oil, egg, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Add the rest of the ingredients from the other two bowls and mix by hand. The batter will be liquid. 
6. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with crumbs but no liquid batter. 
7. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, and then on a wire rack until completely cool. 

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Whipped Cream

Ingredients

1 C whipping cream

1/8 C powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla to stiff peaks. 

Strawberry Filling

Ingredients

One basket of strawberries, sliced and chopped

1/4 C granulated sugar

1/8 C Cointreau

1 T cornstarch

Squeeze of lemon

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Instructions

Place all of the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the temperature to low and simmer, stirring, for about ten minutes. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate if you are not assembling the cake immediately. 

To Assemble the Cake

Place one cake layer on a plate or cake stand. Spread the top generously with whipped cream and then top with the strawberry mixture. Place the second layer on top of the first, and repeat. Slice and eat.