Chocolate Strawberry Cake

So as you may already know, yesterday was my boyfriend's birthday. I've been waiting for this day because this was the first time I've ever baked a cake. Well something more elaborate than a simple one layer cake.

He told me he wanted a chocolate cake, so I did some searching online and found this recipe. This cake stood out to me but the only problem was that it is vanilla. So I went ahead and used the chocolate cupcake recipe from my Halloween spiders and just increased each ingredient needed and replaced the oil with butter.

If you want a simpler cake, try making only one layer of the cake and divide the frosting recipe in half. Perfect if you have a small family or a little gathering to attend to.

Printer Friendly Recipe Here

Serves 12

Ingredients

Cake ( I did this twice. Once for the top layer and again for the bottom )

* 1 cup soy milk

* 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

* 1/2 cup vegan margarine, at room temperature, plus more for pan

* 1 cup vegan cane sugar

* 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

* 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

* 1/2 cup cocoa powder

* 3/4 tsp baking soda

* 1/2 tsp baking powder

* 1/4 tsp salt

Frosting

* 16 oz vegan cream cheese ( such as Tofutti )

* 3 cups organic powdered sugar

* 1 cup vegan margarine

* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Toppings

* 1 lb strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a 8 or 9" round cake pan.

2. Mix in the soy milk and vinegar in a small bowl or cup and set aside to curdle, about 10 minutes.

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

4. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla.

5. Alternatively, beat in flour mixture and soy milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Too much mixing and your cake will turn out dense.

6. Spread batter in prepared pan.

7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pan and invert onto a wired rack to cool completely.

8. To make the frosting, add all the ingredients into a medium sized bowl and mix well with an electric mixer until smooth.

9. Place bottom half on a serving plate.Arrange half the strawberries over bottom cake layer, top with half of frosting, leaving a one inch boarder.

10. Cover with top half of cake, cut side down. Top cake with remaining frosting, leaving a one inch boarder. Refrigerate cake and remaining strawberries separately, at least one hour or up to one day. Just before serving, spoon strawberries over cake.