Strawberry Chocolate Sweetheart Cake

A beautiful pink heart-shaped cake — nothing more perfect in my mind! And for Valentine’s Day, there is nothing better than the sweet flavors of strawberries and chocolate. So whip out your favorite heart-shaped pan and bake this Strawberry Chocolate Sweetheart Cake for that someone special.

Not only do these two flavors go perfectly together, I absolutely love the colors of light pink and dark brown together — the contrast is simply elegant! And you won’t be able to resist the wonderful combination of fresh, sweet strawberries engulfed in a light buttercream frosting and smothered over a moist and delicious dark chocolate cake. Your sweetheart will love you even more (not sure it that’s possible!) with every bite!

Strawberry Chocolate Sweetheart Cake
(recipe inspired from Caphalon)

For the Chocolate Cake
1 box (15.25 oz.) Pillsbury Dark Chocolate Premium Cake Mix
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

Turn oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a heart-shaped spring form pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Note, if you do not have a heart-shaped pan you can use a regular 9-inch spring form pan or two 9-inch round pans to make a layer cake.

In a large bowl add all ingredients and mix with a hand-held mixer on medium-speed for 2 minutes. Pour mixture into your prepared pan and bake for about 45-50 minutes or until cake is done. Cool for about 15 minutes on a wire rack, them remove cake from pan and cool completely before frosting.

For the Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4-5 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and pureed*
2 tablespoons heavy cream

In a bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and vanilla on high-speed until light and creamy. Turn your mixer to low and slowly add the sugar, about one cup at a time allowing the butter and sugar to cream together. Then add the pureed strawberries and mix until well combined. Add the heavy cream, about 1 tablespoon at a time until the buttercream reaches the consistency you like. Note, if the buttercream is too thin you can add more sugar or if it’s too thick you can add more cream or pureed strawberries.

*To puree strawberries; place washed and hulled strawberries in a blender and pulse on high until pureed.

Place your cooled cake on a serving tray and generously frost the cake. Smooth with an offset spatula. For a special touch, garnish with fresh strawberries. Slice and serve to your sweetie!