Erica's Sweet Tooth » Strawberry Brownie Layer Cake

Strawberry Brownie Layer Cake

posted by Erica on April 30, 2015

Remember how on Sunday I alluded to baking a cake instead of studying diligently over the weekend? Well, this is that cake. I don’t do layer cakes very often, as they usually require too much fuss, but of course when I’m slammed with studying, I venture into the realm of cake baking. Granted, if you’re going to make a layer cake, this is definitely one of your easiest options! Naked cakes are all the rage these days (just check out Style Me Pretty and the loads of beautiful un-frosted wedding cakes) and nothing looks better naked than layers of brownie cake, freshly whipped cream, and some of the season’s first and sweetest strawberries.

Although frosted cakes are undoubtedly beautiful, they can certainly be intimidating and very technique sensitive. When I have ample time and patience, there’s nothing more rewarding than a smoothly frosted cake. But when there are random facts to be memorized and not a lot of time, I am 100% open to the idea of an unfrosted cake. This way you can see all the beautiful layers without even cutting into the cake, and the components really get to shine. Believe it or not this cake was actually very easy to put together too. I baked one batch of dark chocolate brownies into three 6″ cake pans and used a simple sweetened whipped cream to layer the brownies with sliced strawberries. A quick ganache went on top to help secure the crown of strawberries to finish it all off. This is also a great dessert to skip a few steps if you want – use boxed brownies instead of from scratch or cool whip instead of fresh whipped cream and the result will still be beautiful and tasty!

What really drove me to make this cake was the fact that I was dying to load up on strawberries. The strawberries in stores are finally starting to taste like actual strawberries, not just watery fruits, and I really wanted to showcase them in this dessert. Their red color adds a lot of pizzazz to this cake, but the sweetness and freshness of the berries also help balance out the deep, dark brownie layers and the whipped cream keeps everything light and not too rich. Strawberries and whipped cream make a great combination, as do chocolate-covered strawberries of course, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that this chocolate, strawberry, whipped cream cake is such a hit!

I realize bikini season is around the corner and a brownie layer cake might not be the most appropriate food to be sharing as temperatures rise, but with Mother’s Day coming up and plenty of picnics and barbecues, everyone needs a little treat. So even if you have a massive board exam coming up, I promise that you can still make this cake and enjoy it that much more.

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Strawberry Brownie Layer Cake

Yield: 1 6" cake

Ingredients:

for the brownie layers:

12 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1/3 cup all purpose flour

for the stabilized whipped cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp vanilla or white chocolate instant pudding mix

for the topping:

4 oz semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 pound strawberries

Directions:

for the brownie layers:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray 3 6" cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the melted butter and sugars until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time and beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the vanilla and beat until well incorporated.

With the mixer on low speed, add the cocoa powder and flour and mix until incorporated. Divide the batter equally among the three prepared cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. You want to be careful not to overbake your brownie layers or else they will be too difficult to slice through in the cake. Allow brownies to cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then invert onto wire cooling racks to cool completely.

for the stabilized whipped cream:

Chill your electric mixer bowl and whisk attachment before using. Once chilled, whip the whipping cream on high speed until peaks form. Reduce the speed to medium, add the pudding mix, then increase the speed again to high and whip until stiff peaks form. Store in the fridge until ready to assemble cake.

for the topping and assembly:

To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl and set aside. Heat the whipping cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it JUST begins to bubble. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate and whisk until completely smooth. Chill ganache in the fridge for about 10 minutes to allow it to slightly set.

For assembly, place first brownie layer on desired serving plate and cover with half of the whipped cream. Cover with a layer of sliced strawberries. Add a dollop of whipped cream in the center on top of the strawberries to help the next layer of brownie adhere to the strawberries. Repeat again with the next layer of brownies, whipped cream, and strawberries.

Place the last brownie layer on top and cover with ganache. Use an offset spatula to spread the ganache evenly over the top of the cake. Then arrange the rest of your sliced strawberries on top as desired. Transfer cake to the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow the ganache to set, and keep cake chilled until ready to serve.

posted in Cakes

18 comments »

18 Responses to “Strawberry Brownie Layer Cake”

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1

June Burns — April 30, 2015 @ 12:36 pm

Wow that looks fabulous! Love how you decorated it with the fresh strawberries, very pretty :)
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Tash — May 1, 2015 @ 3:21 am

So pretty!!! I want to try and recreate this for a work morning tea next week, wish me luck! Tash
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Farhana S — May 2, 2015 @ 1:49 am

My niece loves strawberries and her parents love chocolate, this just might be the cake I make for her birthday :)
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marina b — June 15, 2015 @ 4:21 pm

i made mini versions in my cupcake tin for a student farewell – made bot choco and whipped cream on top versions
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Joan — September 26, 2015 @ 7:50 pm
You mention that a box mix would work in a pinch. How many boxes are needed to make the three layers? Thanks so much!
- Erica — September 27th, 2015 @ 4:53 pm
  
  I think one box should be enough to make 3 thin layers, but maybe buy 2 just in case. You’ll want the batter to go about halfway to the top of the pan.
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Courtney — February 13, 2017 @ 10:40 pm

This looks soo delicious!! Do you have any idea of an estimate of how long it takes to make? Hoping I have time to make it for Valentine’s Day tomorrow!

Thanks!

Courtney
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Sue — February 16, 2017 @ 3:29 pm

How long will this cake keep I the refrigerator? How long does the whipped cream last before it starts to melt down?
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Sue — February 16, 2017 @ 3:30 pm

Oops … wrong email in last message. This one is correct.
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Octavia — April 21, 2017 @ 3:19 pm

How high should the six in pan be? I have a pan that is three inches high. Will that be too much?
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Livy — April 20, 2018 @ 7:12 pm

We had to add sugar to the whipped cream and also had to double the batch of brownies because the layers were way too thin. We added our own decor to make it more our style but it’s an awesome recipe and so much fun to make. – O&K
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Tiffanie — October 26, 2018 @ 2:14 pm
I notice you don’t have information on how many this serves on here. I need to make one large enough to serve around 20 people. I was thinking of tripling this recipe for that and using 9 inch pans instead. Do you think that will be enough?
- Erica — October 29th, 2018 @ 8:54 am
  
  I think that should be plenty!
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Roberta — November 28, 2018 @ 9:07 am
Hi…I wanted to make this for 30 people. What would you suggest? Two cakes? Or bigger pans?
- Erica — November 28th, 2018 @ 9:18 am
  
  I would double the recipe and try using 9″ pans instead!
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Roberta — December 1, 2018 @ 4:24 am

Will the strawberries weep?
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JoJo Hubbard — May 7, 2019 @ 8:28 pm

What a marvelously beautiful cake! Needed only 4 servings so I did simplify by making only one layer with brownie mix, topped by your ganache then stabilized whipped cream then piled high with sliced strawberries as in your photo. Delicious and beautiful for my daughter’s 60th birthday. Thank you!
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Shari — May 17, 2019 @ 11:21 pm

Can this cake be made the day be for? Or will the whipped topping break down? Or will the strawberries bleed in to the whipped topping?