37. Chocolate Strawberry Cake

So I am very late. I’m sorry! I’m not doing great at keeping on top of the blog at the moment, and I have no real excuse. Anyway, here is a simple, but impressive looking cake for those summer days when the sun is shining and you and your friends can sit out in the garden and chill.

I hope you enjoy!

Makes 1 cake

Ingredients

For the cake

6oz butter
6oz self-raising flour
6oz sugar
3 eggs
2 tbsp cocoa powder

For the decoration

580g butter
240g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
around 12-15 strawberries

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C and line two sandwich tins.
Cream together your butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in eggs, flour and cocoa powder.
Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and spread out evenly.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until they spring back when touched.
Allow to cool on wire racks.
Whip the butter until light and fluffy and pales in colour.
Add in the icing sugar and vanilla extract. Fill a piping bag (or two if you want to use different nozzles).
To construct, select 6/7 small strawberries to place on the top and decorate with. The remainder of the strawberries, slice into slithers. About eighths.
Pipe icing around the edge of your bottom layer so that it looks neat. Fill the middle with strawberry slithers and icing.
Stack on the top layer. Slice the tops off the decoration strawberries and pipe a little icing on to them so that they stick to the cake. Fill the rest of the top with small peaks.
Serve and enjoy!