Moist Chocolate Strawberry Cake Recipe

Easy Chocolate Strawberry Cake — a quick, impressive dessert ready in under an hour. A tender chocolate cake is layered with a bright, homemade strawberry buttercream and finished with a glossy chocolate ganache. It’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, special occasions, or any time you want a show-stopping treat that’s simple to make.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

The Cake: This recipe uses a doctored boxed chocolate cake mix for speed and consistent results. If you prefer homemade from scratch, you can swap in any favorite chocolate cake recipe.

The Frosting: The strawberry buttercream is made with real strawberries for natural flavor, boosted with a touch of concentrated strawberry oil if desired, and colored with gel food coloring for a vibrant pink look.

The Ganache: A simple ganache of heavy cream and semi-sweet chocolate creates a silky, pourable topping that adds shine and richness.

Perfect Pairing: Chocolate and strawberries are a classic combination for a reason — they balance each other beautifully and make this cake feel extra special.

What Goes Into This Recipe

Boxed Cake Mix: A quality chocolate cake mix keeps this recipe quick and reliable. To elevate the mix, add a few extra ingredients listed below for a moister, richer crumb.

Strawberry Buttercream: Fresh or thawed frozen strawberries are cooked down and incorporated into a classic buttercream. Small amounts of strawberry oil and neon-pink gel coloring are optional but enhance flavor and color.

Ganache: Heavy cream and semi-sweet chocolate chips make a smooth ganache that’s easy to pour over the chilled frosted cake.

Decorations: Fresh strawberries, sprinkles, crushed chocolate, and small candies are all suggested toppings to finish the cake.

1. Prepare pans: Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans, or use a baking spray with flour.
2. Mix batter: Combine the wet ingredients (oil, vanilla, sour cream, heavy cream, and eggs) then add the boxed cake mix along with cocoa and optional espresso powder. Mix until just combined.
3. Bake: Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.

1. Cook strawberries: In a medium saucepan combine ½ cup chopped strawberries, ¼ cup water, and a pinch of salt. Heat over medium and mash as the mixture simmers until reduced to about ¼ cup (roughly 3–4 minutes). Cool completely.
2. Make basic buttercream: Beat 1½ cups softened butter until fluffy. Add 1½ teaspoons vanilla, 6½ cups powdered sugar, and about 5 tablespoons heavy cream. Beat to form a smooth buttercream.
3. Finish buttercream: Stir in the cooled strawberry reduction, 3–4 drops strawberry oil if using, and a few drops of neon pink gel coloring to reach the desired color. Adjust texture with additional powdered sugar (if too thin) or extra cream (if too stiff).

1. Layer: Place the first cake layer on your board. Put a generous layer of strawberry buttercream on top, then set the second layer in place. Fill any gaps with more buttercream and chill the cake briefly to set the filling.
2. Frost: Frost the cake with the remaining buttercream. For a very smooth, professional finish, do a thin crumb coat, chill, then apply a final coat (this may require doubling the frosting).
3. Ganache: Warm ¼ cup heavy cream with 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Pour ganache over the chilled frosted cake and let it drip down the sides.
4. Decorate: Add fresh strawberries, crushed chocolate, sprinkles, and candies before the ganache sets for the best appearance.

Store the cake and any slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Keeping the cake covered prevents it from drying out.

Add sour cream, heavy cream, an extra egg, vanilla, a little cocoa powder, and optional espresso powder to enrich the texture and deepen the chocolate flavor.

Yes. Thaw frozen strawberries before cooking them down for the buttercream. Fresh berries are recommended for decorating.

Ingredients (summary)

• 1 box chocolate cake mix*
• ½ cup vegetable oil, 2 tbsp vanilla, ¾ cup sour cream, ¾ cup heavy cream, 4 eggs
• ¼ cup cocoa powder, 1 tsp espresso powder (optional)
• Strawberry buttercream: ½ cup strawberries, ¼ cup water, pinch of salt, 1½ cups butter, 1½ tsp vanilla, 6½ cups powdered sugar, 5 tbsp heavy cream, 3–4 drops strawberry oil (optional), neon pink gel (optional)
• Ganache: ¼ cup heavy cream, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Decorations: Fresh strawberries, sprinkles, crushed chocolate, candies

Instructions (summary)

1. Preheat oven to 325°F and prepare two 8-inch pans. Mix wet ingredients, then add cake mix and dry additions.
2. Bake 25–30 minutes; cool completely.
3. Cook strawberries with water and salt until reduced; cool.
4. Beat butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and cream into buttercream; add strawberry reduction and color/flavorings.
5. Layer, frost, chill briefly, then pour ganache and decorate.

Nutrition (per serving, approximate)

Calories: 553 kcal | Carbohydrates: 67 g | Protein: 4 g | Fat: 31 g | Sugar: 56 g