🍫 Homemade Dark Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Buttercream 🍓

A rich, bakery-style dessert made completely from scratch.

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🛒 Ingredients

🍫 Dark Chocolate Cake

• 1¾ cups (220g) all-purpose flour

• ¾ cup (65g) unsweetened dark cocoa powder

• 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar

• 1½ tsp baking powder

• 1½ tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 large eggs (room temp)

• 1 cup (240ml) whole milk

• ½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil

• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1 cup (240ml) hot brewed coffee (enhances chocolate flavor)

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🍓 Strawberry Buttercream (Real Strawberry Flavor)

• 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened

• 3½–4 cups (420–480g) powdered sugar

• ½ cup freeze-dried strawberries (powdered in blender)
  (or ⅓ cup thick strawberry reduction – see note below)

• 2–3 tbsp heavy cream

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• Pinch of salt

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👩‍🍳 Instructions

1️⃣ Prepare the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

2. Grease and line two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans.

3. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.

5. Slowly stir in hot coffee (batter will be thin — that’s perfect).

6. Divide evenly into pans.

Bake:

• 8-inch pans: 30–35 minutes

• 9-inch pans: 25–30 minutes

Cool completely before frosting.

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2️⃣ Make Strawberry Buttercream

1. Beat butter until light and fluffy (3–4 minutes).

2. Gradually add powdered sugar.

3. Mix in strawberry powder, vanilla, and salt.

4. Add cream 1 tbsp at a time until fluffy and spreadable.

Beat on medium-high for 2–3 minutes until silky.

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3️⃣ Assemble

1. Level cake layers if needed.

2. Spread a thick layer of strawberry buttercream between layers.

3. Crumb coat and chill 20 minutes.

4. Frost final layer smoothly or decorate with swirls.

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✨ Optional Garnish

• Fresh strawberries

• Chocolate shavings

• Chocolate ganache drip

• Freeze-dried strawberry crumble

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💡 Pro Tips

• Coffee won’t make it taste like coffee — it deepens chocolate flavor.

• Freeze-dried strawberries give the most intense natural flavor without thinning the frosting.

• For ultra-rich cake, substitute hot coffee with hot espresso.

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If you’d like, I can also give you:
• A decadent dark chocolate ganache filling version
• A strawberry-filled (jam center) bakery-style upgrade
• Or a heart-shaped Valentine presentation version 💕