Chocolate, Almond and Strawberry Cake

This winter is giving me all the reasons to bake! It is so cold in my part of town plus it’s been raining and there is very little scope for any outdoor activity. I love the sunshine especially in the colder months but there is also the prospect of getting better photos on a cloudy day than those days when the sun is shining bright in my backyard where I normally shoot. So I ended up baking 7 cakes in 6 days.  Yeah, I’m amazed at myself where I go for days feeling like I have nothing new to add or nothing better to create. And then there are these bursts of energy on certain days when I don’t have enough hours to give shape to my crazy imagination.

Chocolate, almond and strawberries in a cake speak for itself. All the great, stuff, right? And the bonus is that the batter can be made in one pan. Just mix and pour!
The buttercream is actually chocolate flavored, made with cocoa powder and tinted with red food gel colour. I’ve been meaning to make a red frosting for months and finally got my chance.

 

 

Chocolate, Almond and Strawberry Cake
Makes a 6 inch round cake

150 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
3 eggs, lightly whisked
1/2 cup strawberries, roughly chopped

Cocoa Buttercream
125 g unsalted butter, softened
11/2 cups icing sugar
1 tbsp milk (more if needed)
1 and 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
red food gel paste (optional)

To make the cake : Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease the base and sides and line the base of a 6 inch round baking pan.

In a large saucepan, place the butter, sugar, milk, cocoa powder and bicarbonate soda and cook over low heat until butter has melted and mixture is smooth.
Remove from heat and leave aside for 10 minutes to cool.

Add the flour and almond meal. Mix. Add the eggs and mix till incorporated. Fold in the strawberries.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean.
Remove from oven. Leave aside for 10 minutes. Run a blunt knife around the sides to loosen the cake, then turn onto a wire rack to cool. Once cool, decorate with red tinted cocoa buttercream, flaked almonds and strawberries.

To make the red tinted cocoa buttercream, using an electric mixer or a hand mixer beat the butter until pale and fluffy. Add the sugar, a little at a time beating well until fully incorporated. Add the cocoa powder and milk and beat again until no white streaks appear and buttercream is fluffy. If it is too thick, add another tbsp of milk to lighten up. Add a little red gel paste until desired red shade is reached. Please note, the colour will deepen with time so it’s best to make the buttercream a day in advance and allow the colour to develop.