Strawberry Chocolate Cake pairs all the joy of a chocolate covered strawberry with the moistness of your favorite sponge cake. Whether you are celebrating a Special Day or just looking to bake something to “wow” the crowd, this decadent treat never goes out of style.

Who doesn’t love a heaping slice of chocolate cake? Add some strawberries in the mix and it’s game over. The first time I made this cake was for the Super Bowl and it got gobbled up before I could even finish passing out the slices. I like to think it stole the show!
Before you hop in and start baking, I do recommend taking two days to bake this cake to make your life a bit easier. You’ll need to prepare two 11-inch Sponge Cakes (click the link for a recipe) for the layers and I always find it convenient to take care of this step the day before serving. It’s not the end of the world if you pack the whole process into one day, but I’m always a fan of working just a bit ahead to bring more joy to my cooking.
How to Make Strawberry Chocolate Cake
This Strawberry Chocolate Cake looks straight out of the fanciest of bakeries. But, don’t get discouraged! It’s actually quite simple to make, with the “toughest step” being to ensure you don’t overbeat the cream.
- Bake two 9- or 11-inch sponge cakes. Slice each cake into two layers for a total of four.
- Spread strawberry jam on each layer.
- Sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder into your two cups of cold heavy whipping cream.
- Beat on high-speed until the mixture doubles in volume, paying special attention to not over beat.
- Carefully spread cream on top of your jelly layer. Sprinkle on sliced strawberries. Apply remaining cream to the outside of the cake.
- To make the ganache, place chocolate chips into a bowl. In a sauce pan, heat the remaining cup of cream just until it simmers (do not let it boil or it will burn!) and immediately remove from heat. Pour hot cream over the top of chocolate chips and stir rapidly until smooth and completely incorporated. For more tips on making and using ganache, check out this post.
- Place ganache in a Ziplock or piping bag. Drizzle chocolate on the edges of the cake, letting it drip off the sides. Apply ganache to the top of the cake, forming one smooth layer. Refrigerate cake for 15 minutes or until the ganache hardens.
- Dip strawberries into the remaining ganache. Place alongside the edge of the cake.
- Allow cake to set overnight in the refrigerator for the best texture.






Tips for the Best Strawberry Chocolate Cake
After trial-and-error, we’ve pulled all of our best tips together to ensure your cake comes out with a bang.
- Sift Dry Ingredients. If you’re an avid baker, you’ve probably heard that you should be sifting your dry ingredients to yield the best taste and texture. Why? Sifting ensures all your dry ingredients are lump-free and fully incorporated with one another before you add any wet ingredients.
- Use Very Cold Heavy Whipping Cream. To get the fluffiest, most rich whipped cream, use very cold heavy whipping cream. Cold dairy emulsifies much quicker and gives you that luscious, spreadable texture.
- Nail the Drizzle. I’ve seen a couple chefs nail the ganache drizzle with a mere spoon, but I like to take no risks and use a piping or Ziploc bag with a tiny hole cut at the very tip. Using a slow, pulsing motion, squeeze out just a tiny bit of ganache, altering the pressure you apply to get your desired thickness as you drizzle around the outer edges of the cake.
- Get a bakery-worthy flat cake top. The key to a perfectly flat cake top? Use the bottom side of your sponge cake. Yes, it’s as simple as that! Bonus: If your cake sticks or falls apart on any one side (it happens!), simply flip and use for the inner layers.
- Use Quality Chocolate. Use the best quality chocolate you can get your hands on for the ganache. Since this frosting is made with just two ingredients, skimping on quality isn’t an option.
- Perfect Ganache Texture. Your ganache may be seen runny and inconsistent at first, so you’ll want to continue stirring until the chocolate is fully melted. Still too runny? Allow it to sit for a few minutes and it will thicken.
Hot Tip: Not a fan of strawberries? It’s okay, we can still be friends. Feel free to swap in a different berry or fruit. Cherries, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and apricots will work particularly well.

Making Chocolate Strawberry Cake In Advance
Above, I shared my recommendation for breaking the baking process up into two days. If you really like to get ahead of the curve, feel free to make your sponge cakes up to five days in advance. Just make sure to keep the layers stored an an airtight container to prevent them from drying out.
Additionally, you can assemble your cake up to three days in advance. The longer you let it set, the more flavorful it will turn out and the better it will hold together upon serving.
FAQ
How do you keep chocolate cake moist?
The key to keeping chocolate cake moist is spreading each layer with the strawberry jam. The juices and sugar will soak into the sponger layers, ensuring each bite is as good as the last.
Can you freeze chocolate strawberry cake?
It’s not recommended to freeze the chocolate strawberry cake. It’s best to store extra slices in the refrigerator in an airtight container. I’ve always found that fresh strawberries don’t defrost very well after being frozen and will turn watery and mushy.
What flour should you use for sponge cake?
All-purpose flour works the very best. Try to find a high-quality, European or Canadian flour if you can. They tend to have a higher protein content and result in the best cake texture.
What makes a sponge cake light and fluffy?
They key to light and fluffy sponge cake is to not overmix the dough. If you do, it will turn out flat.

More Chocolate Cakes
- Drunken Cherry Cake – This liqueur soaked cake is to die for.
- Cake Prague – A rich coffee cake that’s wonderful for any occasion.
- Ferrero Rocher Cake – If you’re obsessed with the candy, you’re going to be obsessed with the cake.
- Zebra Cake – This marble cake is wonderful for a kid’s birthday.
Recipe
Ingredients
Sponge cake
- 2 chocolate sponge cakes sliced into four even layers
- 1 cup strawberry jam
- 2 cup strawberries sliced
Chocolate Cream
- 2 cup heavy whipping cream very cold
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Ganache
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 14 fresh strawberries
Instructions
- Bake two 9- or 11-inch sponge cakes. Carefully slice each sponge cake into two layers.
- Generously spread strawberry jam onto the tops of each layer, ensuring your reserve one of the cake bottoms for the smooth top layer of your cake.
- Into the two cups of cold heavy whipping cream, sift in powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
- Beat on high-speed, until the cream mixture doubles in volume. Make sure not to over beat, otherwise cream will become runny and difficult to spread.
- Apply chocolate cream to each cake layer and then sprinkle with sliced strawberries. Apply remaining cream on the outside of the cake.
- Place chocolate chips in a bowl. In a sauce pan over medium-heat, bring remaining cream to a simmer (do not let it reach a boil). Pour hot cream over chocolate chips, stirring everything together until the chocolate is smooth and melted.
- Place chocolate ganache in a Ziploc or piping bag. Drizzle ganache on the edges of the cake, letting it drip off the sides. Apply the chocolate ganache to the top of the cake and create a smooth layer with a knife or cake spatula. Refrigerate the cake for 15 minutes, or until ganache hardens.
- Dip strawberries into the remaining ganache and place them alongside the edge of the cake.
- Let cake set at least overnight and up to three days before serving.
We managed to cut the sponges in half, although they did rise a little, so will cook at a lower temperature next time. We found that the cream was not enough to cover the whole cake, so we only used 3 of the sponges. Overall though it taste lovely
Hi Alexander, Thanks for your feedback, I'm happy to hear it turned out!
Impossible to cut the layers in half without the cake falling apart! The frosting doesn’t taste sweet enough and the chocolate drizzle was too runny and made a mess! Epic fail for me but I tried
Hi Angel, I'm sorry the cake didn't work out. Ganache can be kind of tricky, one tip is to let it cool a few minutes so that it thickens before you drizzle over the edges of the cake. Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback!
Any tips on how to cut the cakes in half without it falling apart?
Hi Angel- I recommend using a serrated knife, it'll cut through the sponge cake easier. If you really want perfect layers, look up "cake slicer tool" and you'll see there are tools made specifically for getting perfect cake layers!
Great recipe, it came out great, i made a few changes to the deco. If i could upload photo i wold show you🙂 thanks again.
Hi Davina, I am so glad you loved the recipe!! Please share the photo with me on Facebook under any post, I would love to see how you decorated it 🙂
Your recipe is confusing. It says that for the chocolate cream there will be chocolate chips needed but it does not say what to do with them. Very frustrating since I did not know whether to melt them or not or just ignore that you list them in the recipe.
Lilie, thats a type. Thanks for sharing your frustration. The chocolate chips were are there for Ganache but accidentally were added twice, we have updated the recipe. Thanks
What a beautiful cake!! Love the layers & of course, chocolate & strawberry are delicious together!!
Yes, they are a classic combo, so glad you enjoyed it!!
I made this for my Mom and it was a show stopper. Gorgeous and beyond delicous!
This sounds like an amazing treat for your Mom, thank you for sharing your feedback, I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
When I said on your Sponge Cake recipe post that my favorite topping on sponge cake was strawberries and whipped cream I did NOT realize you had a chocolate strawberry cake that utilized the sponge cakes! LOVE this! Perfection!
Haha, thank you Betsy, I'm so glad you loved this recipe 🙂
On your new website, steps 5 & 6 have different photos but have the same instructions.
Hey dear, thank you. This is definitely a bug that was transferred from the old site. We will fix it. 🙂
I made this with real crushed strawberries instead of jam and it was amazing! Thank you!!
Oh so nice! Great idea to use fresh starawberries. Thank you for giving this suggestion in comments.
This cake turned out delicious. I also added rum in the cream to make it even more tasty. And I brushed the layers with pineapple juice and tuned out very juicy. Thank you for such great receipe.
Oh, I love the tip with adding pineapple juice. And your cake looks more than perfect!
This cake was the bomb!!!
Easy to make too!!
Thanks Natalya ❤️❤️
wow, and you didn't dip strawberries into chocolate. I like this look! This is why I love photo comments!!!
I think I was either too lazy or satisfied with how it looked without it ?
And I had no idea I could insert photos into comments until I saw your guys' latest vlog! That's actually so neat! I wish I had more saved photos on my phone from your recipes that I have made, I made a ton of them and loved them all!! From now on, I'll try to attach a pic to a recipe whenever I cook/bake using your blog ❤️❤️❤️
Seriously, you are awesome! I love that you are starting this trend, I know more people will comment with photos now.
Speaking of cake, I may copy your idea for next time. It's a perfect cake for Valentines day.
I could not make ganache as thick as yours even after cooling it down. Can you please post ingredients ratio separately for icing and ganache. Thanks
We are working on separating ingredients in the future but they are listed in the order you should be using them.
I could not find instructions for cream required for icing.
The pictures are above with the whipping cream, powdered sugar and cocoa powder. I hope this helps you. If you will follow in the order, you shouldn't have a problem.
Help! I followed instructions exactly but my ganache is too thin/runny. What's wrong? Your's looks thick.
As it cools down it turns thicker, it is very runny at first but that is what makes it easy to apply the ganache.
Is the sponge cake chocolate or vanilla, I cannot quite tell from the photos?
Its is chocolate cake.
It is chocolate cake.
When you say "beat" are reffering to hand beating or an electric mixer?
Yes, with electric mixers.
Thank you, that's probably why my first cake didn't turn out
It should be fluffy when it's whipped. Hope this helps the next time you make it.
I have clicked on everything on this page and nothing takes me to the instructions to make this cake. Am I just overlooking a link? I see the ingredients but no instructions.
Hi Debra, I can pass this info to the webmaster. Would you mind sharing the name of your internet browser?
I made this cake yestorday I LOVE IT chocolate and strawbery together WOW good =)
This is awesome! I am happy you loved the cake 🙂
Made it the other day and it was amazing! Got so many compliments! My husband is not a fan of anything with fruit. Do you have any recipe suggestions to moisten the layers instead of the jam? Thank you
I ma glad you guys loved the cake! Try using whipping cream, kinda like in this recipe http://momsdish.com/r381 but skip on the liqueur, unless you want some in your cake 🙂
Oh my-how have I not seen that recipe before?! Everything is better with Irish cream! Thank you for the idea-making it tomorrow!
Olya, You are funny 🙂 I hope you love the cake, keep me posted!
thanks for sharing this. Great recipe! my go to sponge cake for sure. fv.
Thank you for feedback 😉 glad you guys liked the cake!
This is a great recipe but it isn't very organized. It might be a good idea to keep the ingredients for chocolate and cream separated.
I agree with you! We are working on a new website where we will have that option. I try to keep ingredients in order for now. Thank you for suggestion!
Natalya, did you add cocoa in the sponge cakes? the layers look dark
Yes, this one has cacao. Read a note at the end of the recipe instructions in a sponge cake. It says how you can make it with cacao.
Just realized that the person below asked the same question... In the process of making the cake right now... Will return with the results 🙂
Please do 🙂 it looks like I need to add this to notes 🙂
Your sponge cake looks darker for this cake? Did you add cocoa powder to the original sponge cake recipe?
Yes, this one has cacao. Read a note at the end of the recipe instructions in a sponge cake. It says how you can make it with cacao.
Perfect thanks!
I made this cake...it turned out delicious...frosting tastes like chocolate icecream....hehe
Hey Mila, I am so happy that you liked the cake. Yeah, my husband said to leave him some cream for a snack 😉
u know honestly I'm the same... my cakes are not so perfect looking either he he... it's the taste that matters most... 🙂
the most I have a hard time with is smoothing out the frostings... takes time and practice...
Yes, for sure. Baking requires practice. You fail you do it again and again 🙂
wow. very beautiful cake. I'm a cake baker. I love baking cakes... especially receiving the positive feedback on how delicious my cakes are...hehe
I will totally be making this cake this week....
Oh Mila, I bet your cakes look so much better. No matter how hard I try my cakes never come out perfect but they seem to taste good 🙂 I hope you love this one!
Ok. Where did you get the sponge cake? Did you bake it yourself or pick it up in a store? I would really prefer to bake it if possible.
I made it my self. You can find a link for it in discriotion, but here is a link for you http://momsdish.com/r92
Could you pass me that slice, please?!
Oh for sure;)