Chocolate Strawberry “Welcome!” Cake

What a fun and delicious “Welcome to Heidelberg!” cake.  We have family visiting and cake is the best way to say “I’m glad you made the trip.”

The lovely pinkiness of the Strawberry Buttercream hides the dark chocolate of the cake – the greater the contrast the more interesting, right?  Or does that rule just apply in quilting?

There are so many choices when it comes to working with chocolate, strawberries, and buttercream. For this cake, I tried to keep things basic.  Building the cake went quite well.  I still can’t explain why I love baking tall cakes…this one was right at 6″ – before the swirls and strawberries were placed on the top.

I didn’t treat the strawberries, but simply chopped them in small chunks.  The buttercream had enough sweet to knock down any tartness.

 

The final covering of buttercream was a bit more red since I’d added more strawberries as well as a smidge of red coloring gel.

As a reference: my Fiesta Ware plates are the Luncheon Plates in Flamingo & Scarlet.

 I am happy with the results of this cake based on how appetizing this slice looks.  As a baker, I’m especially happy with the even cake/sponge layers, the visibility of the strawberries in the filling, and the sturdiness in which is all stays together.

It’s great having family in town.  It’s even greater that my life partner and I get to live together; simple things I’m not going to take for granted.  Also, I love sobriety.