This chocolate cake with strawberry filling was created to solve one of my biggest cake pet peeves, fillings that slide around the moment you try to stack the layers. After years working as a pastry chef and building layer cakes, I learned quickly that a filling needs real structure. If it is too loose or too wet, the layers shift, the cake becomes unstable, and slicing it turns into a mess. This recipe is built so the chocolate cake stays soft and moist while still being sturdy enough to support a proper filling and frosting.
The strawberry filling is made with freeze dried strawberries blended with butter, powdered sugar, and sour cream. Freeze dried strawberries give you a concentrated strawberry flavor and natural color without adding extra liquid, which keeps the filling thick and stable between the layers. It creates a creamy and insanely flavorful filling that complements the richness of the chocolate cake and frosting while still holding everything neatly in place when the cake is sliced!
Why You'll Love This Strawberry Filled Chocolate Cake Recipe
- Super easy: There’s no messing around with cooking a filling on the stove. The strawberry filling comes together in minutes with a mixer.
- Real strawberry flavor: Freeze dried strawberries give the filling a bold berry taste without watering it down. Chocolate that actually tastes chocolatey! Instant espresso in the cake deepens the chocolate flavor without making it taste like coffee. Tastes like a chocolate covered strawberry!
- Soft, moist cake layers: The chocolate cake bakes up really tender and fluffy!!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Strawberry Filled Chocolate Cake Recipe
- Baking Tips
- Easy Strawberry Filled Chocolate Cake Ingredients
- How to Make Chocolate Strawberry Cake from scratch!
- Chocolate & Strawberry Cake Pro Tips
- How to get flat cake layers
- Chocolate and strawberry cake variations
- How to store moist chocolate cake with strawberry filling
- Strawberry Filled Chocolate Cake FAQs
- More Sweet Treats
- 📖 Recipe
Baking Tips
- Using a kitchen scale is a total game changer for baking. It makes measuring ingredients super precise, so your recipe comes out perfect every single time. Plus, fewer measuring cups means less cleanup, and who doesn’t love that? Invest in one, and you’ll wonder how you ever baked without it!
- I absolutely love baking with fine kosher salt, it gives the perfect balance of flavor. Table salt, on the other hand, can be a bit too harsh, so if you're using it, be sure to cut the amount in half to avoid over salting your treats.
- Always check your oven temperature! Ovens can be sneaky, sometimes running hotter or cooler than what the dial says, and that can really affect how your baked goods turn out. For the most consistent results, I recommend using an oven thermometer to make sure your temps are spot on every time
Easy Strawberry Filled Chocolate Cake Ingredients
- Freeze dried strawberries: These are a must for the filling. They give you strong strawberry flavor and color without adding extra moisture.
- Sour cream in the filling: This is the secret to making the strawberry filling so creamy and flavorful, it does the same for the chocolate buttercream.
- Instant espresso powder: Just a little bit makes the chocolate flavor in the cake pop. It won’t make the cake taste like coffee.
- Natural cocoa powder: Gives the cake that deep chocolate flavor.
- Room temperature eggs and sour cream: This helps everything mix smoothly and keeps the cake texture really soft.
- Vegetable oil or canola oil: Oil keeps the cake incredibly moist and soft for days. Neutral oils like vegetable or canola won’t affect the chocolate flavor.
See recipe card below for quantities.
How to Make Chocolate Strawberry Cake from scratch!
- In a separate bowl, beat together the dry ingredients: granulated sugar, all purpose flour, natural cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt.
- In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat together the wet ingredients: eggs, vanilla extract, whole milk, sour cream, and vegetable oil.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Add 1 cup of hot coffee to the batter and beat until smooth. The batter will be thin, but that’s okay! Making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Divide the batter between the two prepared 8-inch cake pans.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the salted butter with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until it is light and fluffy. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract to the butter. Beat until fully combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Gradually add the powdered sugar, about ¼ cup at a time, mixing on low speed to prevent a mess. Once all the sugar is added, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until smooth and creamy. Add the freeze dried strawberry powder to the frosting. Mix on low speed until fully incorporated.
- Using a mixer, beat the butter and cocoa powder together in a large bowl until smooth and fully combined. Add the sour cream and mix until well incorporated. Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing on low speed as you go. Add the milk and vanilla extract, then continue adding the remaining powdered sugar. Beat for 1–2 minutes, until the frosting is light, fluffy, and spreadable.
Hint: Place the cake pan on a sheet of parchment paper and trace a circle around the base so it matches the exact size of the bottom of the pan.
Chocolate & Strawberry Cake Pro Tips
- Divide the batter evenly: Make sure each cake pan has the same amount of batter so the layers bake evenly. I like to weigh the batter using my kitchen scale.
- Prep your pans well: Line them with parchment rounds and grease them so the cakes release easily.
- Don’t overmix: Once the batter comes together, stop mixing so the cake stays tender.
- Pulverize the strawberries: Use a blender or mini food processor to turn the freeze dried strawberries into a fine powder for the filling.
- Beat the buttercream well: Use a handheld or stand mixer until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
- Use an offset spatula if you have one: It makes frosting the cake so much easier.
- Serve at room temperature: Cake always tastes better at room temperature. Straight from the fridge it can feel a little dry.
How to get flat cake layers
Getting flat cake layers makes stacking and frosting a cake so much easier. When cake layers bake with a big dome on top, you usually have to trim them with a knife, which wastes cake and creates lots of crumbs. A simple trick many bakers use is cake strips, which help cakes bake evenly so the tops stay nice and flat!
Chocolate and strawberry cake variations
- Fresh strawberries: Add chopped fresh strawberries into the filling for a little extra texture.
- Other berries: Raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries would all work beautifully layered into this cake.
- Use a variety of piping tips to decorate the cake with chocolate buttercream and add texture and detail. Simple swirls, borders, or rosettes are fun!
- Decorating chocolate cake with strawberries: Sliced and whole strawberries on top would be gorgeouse!
How to store moist chocolate cake with strawberry filling
Refrigerator: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Freezer: Wrap slices or the whole cake tightly and freeze for up to 2 months.
Strawberry Filled Chocolate Cake FAQs
Should I refrigerate the cake?
You should refrigerate the assembled cake, wrapped well so it doesn’t dry out. If you’re not planning to eat it all, I recommend freezing the extra slices to lock in the fresh crumb right away. The unfrosted cake layers can stay at room temperature for up to a day if they’re wrapped well before assembling.
Do I need to do a crumb coat?
No, you don’t need to do a crumb coat. This buttercream is easy to work with, and there’s enough frosting that if a few crumbs get into it, you can easily cover them with another layer.
What kind of cocoa powder should I use?
This recipe is developed specifically for natural cocoa powder. Natural cocoa is acidic, which reacts with the baking soda in the batter to help the cake rise properly and create a soft, tender crumb. Using Dutch processed cocoa powder instead can affect the rise and texture of the cake.
More Sweet Treats
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Filled Chocolate Cake
Layered chocolate cake with moist chocolate cake, a bright strawberry filling packed with real strawberry flavor, and the most delicious chocolate buttercream, just like biting into a perfect chocolate covered strawberry!!
Equipment
- 9 inch cake pans metal is best
- Parchment Paper
- Handheld or stand mixer
- Measuring cups or kitchen scale
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake Batter
- 2 cups (420 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (254 grams) all purpose flour if not weighing use the fluff and spoon method (see notes)
- 1 cup (92 grams) natural cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (126 grams) whole milk room temperature
- ½ cup (118 grams) vegetable oil
- ½ cup (122 grams) sour cream full fat, room temperature
- 1 cup hot coffee can also mix hot water with 2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder
Strawberry Filling
- 5 tablespoons (70 grams) salted butter room temperature, add a pinch of salt if you do not have salted butter
- ⅓ cup (75 grams) sour cream full fat
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus ⅓ cup (170 grams) powdered sugar
- heaping ¼ cup (28 grams) freeze dried strawberry powder
Chocolate Buttercream
- 8 tablespoons (113 grams) salted butter room temperature, add a pinch of salt if you do not have salted butter
- ⅔ cup (66 grams) natural cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (75 grams) sour cream full fat
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (270 grams) powdered sugar
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Cut out 8 inch circles for the bottom of the pans.
- In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat together the wet ingredients: eggs, vanilla extract, whole milk, sour cream, and vegetable oil.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the dry ingredients: granulated sugar, all purpose flour, natural cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Add 1 cup of hot coffee to the batter and beat until smooth. The batter will be thin, but that’s okay! Making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared 8-inch cake pans. I like to weigh out or measure out the batter to make sure the layers are even.
- Position it on the center rack of the oven to ensure even baking, avoiding placement too close to the top or bottom. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (you can bake 2 cakes at a time)
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. I like to place a plate or rack on top of the cake pan with a sheet of parchment paper between them, then flip it over. The cake should release and fall out easily.
Strawberry Filling (When assembling the cake, you can add ½ cup of strawberry preserves on top of the strawberry filling layer if you’d like extra filling and a more jammy texture)
- Crush or blend freeze dried strawberries into a fine powder.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the salted butter with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until it is light and fluffy.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla extract to the butter. Beat until fully combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, about ¼ cup at a time, mixing on low speed to prevent a mess. Once all the sugar is added, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until smooth and creamy.
- Add the freeze dried strawberry powder to the frosting. Mix on low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium-high speed until the frosting is light, fluffy, and evenly colored.
- If it’s too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.
Chocolate Buttercream
- Using a mixer on low speed and then increase to medium, beat the butter and cocoa powder together in a large bowl until smooth and fully combined, it will look like a thick paste,
- Add the sour cream and a pinch of salt, and mix until well incorporated. Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing on low speed as you go.
- Add the milk and vanilla extract, then continue adding the remaining powdered sugar. Beat on medium high for 1–2 minutes, until the frosting is light, fluffy, and spreadable, beating long enough also ensures the powdered sugar dissolves.
- Taste and adjust, if you prefer it a little sweeter, add a tablespoon more powdered sugar at a time, if it needs to be thinner add a little more milk, one teaspoon at a time.
Assembling
- Once the cakes have completely cooled, place one cake layer on a cake plate or serving plate. Spread the strawberry filling evenly over the top, going all the way to the edges. If using preserves, spread it evenly over the filling layer. Place the second cake layer on top, then frost the cake with the chocolate buttercream, I like to use an offset spatula.
Notes
Refrigerator: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, the longer in the refrigerator the drier the cake will be. Make sure to bring the cake to room temperature before eating for the best texture.
Freezer: Wrap slices or the whole cake tightly and freeze for up to 2 months.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below and tag @stir.taste.smile on social.
Beth says
This was incredible, the filling is off the charts
Amanda says
thank so you much beth!!!