Red Velvet Strawberry Chocolate Cake for Valentine’s day

Mmmmmmm….would love one right now!

Ingredients

Red Velvet Cupcakes, makes 2 dozen
2 ½ cups Cake Flour, sifted
½ tsp salt
2 Tbs Dutch processed cocoa powder (* it must be Dutch Processed)
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
2 oz Red food coloring (*I cut it to 1.5oz with plenty of red color, but if you want to go all the way with it- who am I to stop you?
1 tsp white vinegar
1 heaping tsp baking soda
Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 ½ tsp vanilla paste (or a scraping of ½ a vanilla bean or just extract)
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 Tbs milk
Pink food coloring
Fresh Strawberry Filling:
3 cups sliced strawberries
Ganache Topping:
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
Sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

For the cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare three 8” rounds with parchment paper and baking spray.
2. Sift together the cake flour with the salt and the cocoa. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and continue beating until everything is well combined and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until each is well combined into the batter. Add the vanilla and mix well to combine, scraping down the sides if necessary.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and the food coloring, completely dissolving the dye into the buttermilk (otherwise it will sit on the bottom of the bowl).
6. You are going to alternately add the flour and the buttermilk to the butter mixture in three parts, beginning and ending with the flour. Keep mixing the entire time, and scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure that all of the butter and flour are mixed into the red batter.
7. Now! In a small bowl add the tsp of vinegar, then add the heaping tsp of baking soda and mix it with a spoon to combine. It will fizz up, and you should immediately add it to the batter, folding it in with a spatula until well combined.
8. Immediately spoon the batter into the cake tins. Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until just cooked through. Pull the cakes out and let them cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
9. Beat all of the ingredients in a standing mixer until completely combined and light and fluffy.
10. To frost the cake. Generously frost the cake. For the 2 filling layers in between the cake layers, add frosting and then 1 1/2 cups of fresh strawberries for each.
11. When the whole cake is completely frosted set it in the fridge to chill and start the ganache.
12. Chop the chocolate finely, and bring the cream to a simmer. Pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
13. Gently pour the ganache over the top of the cake so that it drips over the sides. With the cake even a little chilled, it should set up quickly. Immediately add the sprinkles if you are using them. I recommend chilling before slicing.

Preparation time: 30 minute(s)

Cooking time: 25 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 12

via: heatherchristo