Strawberry Nutella Cake

Busted out the first cake of 2022 for Valentine’s Day, and the Strawberry Nutella Cake was one of the best fudgey, chocolatey desserts I’ve ever had. I love making chocolate desserts for Jordan, and I wanted to bust something out for Valentine’s Day - something that would satisfy his love for chocolate, and particularly his love for dark chocolate. I used a dark cocoa powder, giving the cake some real deal chocolate flavor, the combo of fresh strawberries and nutella buttercream was perfect with a rich, chocolate heavy cake. Jordan + I loved it, determined it was probably the best chocolate cake ever to come out of our kitchen, and it was so good that I even shared it with our contractors, who all gave it rave reviews.

 
 

I love cake. Genuinely love love love it. Particularly a rich + lush layer cake with a velvety buttercream and some kind of exciting filling. This ticked all the boxes. And speaking candidly, not all my cakes turn out so awesome. But this year I so badly want to take my cake game to the next level - find some go to cake recipes for all the special occasions, and hopefully spend many happy moments of this year celebrating with cake.

There are 2 things I’ve learned so far in this cake venture:

  1. Cake by Courtney is queen! Here recipes are so legit and my experience is that when followed, they produce something amazing. I get so discouraged when I’m following a recipe and it seems like something is amiss. And shit always starts to hit the fan with the buttercream. I feel like there have to be other folks like me who know a decent bit about cooking + baking, and find ourselves following these recipes to a freaking t, and despite all the focus + effort the frosting is lumpy or runny or just not quite right. And then getting a perfectly frosted cake becomes impossible. It’s the worst, and all I can say is my girl Courtney is not steering anyone in the wrong direction. My new mantra is “if it’s not cake by courtney, I’m not interested.” She’s a cake angel and her recipes are perfect. I’ve had my own fun adding my own little twists, but her base recipes for cakes + buttercreams are heavenly + reliable.

  2. You need all the tools. Head to Amazon and buy all the cake decorating stuff. The cardboard cake trays, the offset spatulas, the edgers, the acrylic disks to put on top of your cake to get the most perfectly smooth + even layer of frosting. All essential in getting a great end result, and for me that’s what makes it feel so satisfying. will make your efforts feels like.

 
 

So here it is - the Strawberry Nutella Cake that’s my new go-to chocolate cake recipe. Totally rich + delicious + perfect, and addicting-ly good.

For the cakes

  • 2 c. flour

  • 3/4 c. dark cocoa powder

  • 2 tsp baking soda

  • 3/4 tsp baking powder

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1/2 c. vegetable oil

  • 1 3/4 c. sugar

  • 3 eggs, at room temperature

  • 1 tsp vanilla

  • 1 c. hot water (I use the hottest water setting from my sink as it’s quite warm, and that worked great!)

  • 1 c. buttermilk, at room temperature

  • Sift + mix all the dry ingredients (except sugar) for the cake in a separate bowl.

For the nutella buttercream

  • 4 c. powdered sugar

  • 1 1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 1 c. nutella

  • 1 tsp vanilla

  • Fresh strawberries - some whole and 4-5 thinly sliced.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare three 6-inch round cake pans with oil, parchment paper and a thin layer of flour.

In your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the oil + sugar until fully combined. Keep the mixer on medium and add in the eggs one at a time. Add in the vanilla + hot water, continue to beat on medium for 1-2 minutes. Then add in half of the flour mix, mixing until fully incorporated, then add half of the buttermilk. Repeat until all ingredients have been added to the mixer, and batter has a smooth consistency. Divide the batter evenly among the 3 pans, and bake for 20 minutes (or until the cakes pass the toothpick test).

When the cakes have finished baking, them them cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then on a rack at room temp for an hour, + then trim the cakes to get a flat top. Wrap the prepped and cooled cake layers in plastic wrap + place in the freezer for at least 1 hour.

Move to making the buttercream. Add the sugar and butter to the stand mixer with a paddle attachment, turn to low, and gradually increase the speed to medium high. Mix for 2-3 minutes on medium high. Add in the nutella and vanilla, continuing to mix another 1-2 minutes. You want the texture to be light + flufly.

To assemble the cakes, take your base layer, spread with a thin layer of nutella (stopping 1/4 inch from the end of the cake), then a layer of frosting spread past the edge of the cake, and then top with a layer of fresh strawberrries (stopping 1/4 inch from the end of the cake). Repeat this process with the second cake layer. topping with the 3 layer, and proceed to dirty ice your cake. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Finish icing the cake to get a smooth texture around the sides (using an acrylic disk this time), and place back in the fridge for another 30 minutes. Remove the disk and use the remaining frosting to create a smooth, even layer of frosting on top of the cake. Top with fresh strawberries and eat at room temp!





Lesley ZehnerComment