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slice of cake on a spatula being taken out of the whole cake
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4.79 from 56 votes

Chocolate Valentines Day Cake

You don't have to wait for Valentines Day to make this Chocolate Cake with strawberry mousse.  But it would make the perfect dessert to say I love you!
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16
Calories: 697kcal
Author: Chef Dennis Littley

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

  • 2 ⅔ cup all purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 8 oz unsalted butter softened
  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 large eggs

Strawberry Mousse Filling

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups strawberries fresh or frozen
  • ½ cup graulated sugar
  • 1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin

Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting

  • 4 ounces semi sweet chocolate chopped
  • 16 ounces Mascarpone
  • 4 cups 500 g confectioner’s sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips to garnish top of cake

Instructions

Chocolate Cake

  • Prepare 4 cake pans using parchment circles in the bottom of each pan and lightly coating the sides and paper with butter. I use 9 inch round cakes pans.
  • Preheat oven to 350
  • Blend flour, salt, baking soda, cocoa and sugar together, set aside
  • Make sure all of your wet ingredients are at room temperature.
  • In the bowl of your mixer whip softened butter and yogurt together .
  • Add the eggs one at a time fully incorporating before adding another, and remember to scrape down your bowl in between each addition.
  • Add vanilla and mix until blended
  • Add the dry ingredients and mix just enough to blend them into the wet ingredients.
  • Divide between 4 cake pans,spreading batter evenly using an offset spatula
  • Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
  • Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes then remove from pan to continue cooling.

Strawberry Mousse

  • Sprinkle gelatin over ¼ cup water in a small bowl and let stand 5 minutes.
  • In a food processor, puree 2 cups sliced strawberries and ½ cup granulated sugar until smooth.
  • Transfer strawberry mixture to a small saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat, and add gelatin water mixture to strawberry mixture, stirring constantly until gelatin dissolves.
  • Cover and chill until slightly thickened about 30 minutes, stir the mixture every 10 minutes
  • Whip cream at low speed until foamy; gradually increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form.
  • Fold whipped cream into strawberry mixture until well blended. Cover and chill 30 minutes or just until mixture has thickened enough to be used as filling
  • Spread about 1 cup Strawberry Mousse between each cake layer, cover and chill 3 hours or until mousse is set.

Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting

  • In a double boiler melt chocolate, set aside.
  • Add Mascarpone to a large bowl and beat with confectioner’s sugar in three additions until smooth.
  • Add vanilla and gradually add the melted chocolate.
  • Whip frosting until light and fluffy and frost cake immediately, before chocolate can set.
  • Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top of cake.
  • Refrigerate cake until serving, but allow it to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 697kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 214mg | Potassium: 205mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 67g | Vitamin A: 1000IU | Vitamin C: 10.6mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 2.3mg