Strawberries and cream chocolate celebration cake
Bypass the baking and get your decor groove on with this super easy strawberries and cream chocolate celebration cake.
Ingredients
2 x 350g Sara Lee Chocolate Cakes
125g (1/2 cup) mascarpone cheese
125ml (1/2 cup) thickened cream
500g punnet fresh strawberries
125g salted butter, softened
300g (2 cups) icing sugar
180g block white chocolate
50g milk chocolate
method
Step 1
Remove cakes from packaging. Place one cake on a serving platter and set aside to defrost slightly.
Step 2
Place mascarpone and cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip to form soft peaks. Thinly slice enough strawberries to form a layer over cake. Reserve remaining whole strawberries (see note). Spoon a little mascarpone mixture over strawberries and gently spread to cover. Place the second cake on top, icing side-down, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Place butter and icing sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip until pale and creamy. Spread a third of the icing over the cake to form in a thin ‘buttercream crumb’ layer (see note). Refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes to set slightly. Spread remaining icing over the cake and refrigerate until serving.
Step 4
Place white chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH (100%), stirring every 30 second with a metal spoon, until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool. Repeat process with milk chocolate. Line a large baking tray with foil. Dip half the reserved strawberries into the white chocolate, shaking off any excess. Place on prepared tray. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until set. Dip a fork into the milk chocolate and drizzle lines over the white chocolate strawberries. Refrigerate until set.
Step 5
Decorate cake with chocolate-coated strawberries and fresh strawberries. Serve.
Notes:
Keep reserved strawberries chilled. That way when you dip them in the chocolate, it will stick nicely and you will get a good coating that sets easily.
The buttercream crumb essentially seals the cake, keeping the loose crumbs contained. This creates a preventative barrier so that your top coat of icing will be clean and crumb free.