Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Chocolate plus strawberry is perfection, not to mention totally romantic!
Texture: The cake is ridiculously rich and moist, the frosting is luscious and flavorful, and the chocolate-covered strawberries on top add a whole new realm of juiciness combined with shattering chocolate goodness.
Ease: Assembling and decorating a beautiful cake is totally doable, especially with my step-by-step video, but it does require some patience – but it’s totally worth it when you see jaws drop at its beauty!
Pros: Romantic and beautiful cake that tastes SO good.
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? Absolutely. Perfect for any romantic occasion or birthday.
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I am so excited to be sharing this Valentine’s Day Cake recipe with you!
This cake turned out so beautiful! It would be the perfect way to show your love and appreciation for someone this Valentine’s Day, or any other special occasion.
The best part is that if I can do it, you totally can because I have little patience for cake decorating (Cake Boss gives me nightmares).
The chocolate cake is so unbelievably moist, rich, and flavorful, even people who don’t like cake will like this. Not to mention the strawberry buttercream adds that perfect luscious, creamy, and thick bite of flavor that complements the chocolate wonderfully.
And just in case that wasn’t enough, we’re adding chocolate-covered strawberries on top – just in case your Valentine needed one more reason to love this cake.
By the way – if you want some extra tips on buttercream, check out my post on How to Make the Best Buttercream!
How to Make Valentine’s Day Cake
How to Make MOIST Chocolate Cake
- Measure your ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a digital scale to measure, but if you don’t have one, learn how to measure for accuracy here.
- Don’t substitute the buttermilk. Using real buttermilk will yield a beautifully moist, rich cake with a fantastic texture. I do not recommend using a buttermilk substitute. Learn more about baking with buttermilk here.
- Don’t reduce the sugar. Sugar does so much more than simply sweetening in baking – learn more about that here.
- Oil. We tested this cake with vegetable oil, but any neutral oil that’s liquid at room temperature should work (such as avocado oil or canola oil but not coconut oil). Because oil is a liquid at room temperature, it gives the sensation of moisture by coating the tongue. Learn more about that here.
- Cocoa powder. This recipe uses a natural (aka unsweetened) cocoa powder. Higher fat cocoa powders will yield a richer, more moist cake – learn more about that here.
Yes, This Cake Batter is Supposed to be THIN!
Just a warning, in case you panic while making this cake; it’s supposed to be thin and runny. I promise the cake will bake up ultra moist, rich, and tender.
Help, My Cake Layers Sunk in the Middle!
This chocolate cake is ULTRA moist, so sometimes it sinks a little in the middle. Don’t panic if this happens! You can always flip the cakes upside down when assembling, or use a cake leveler or serrated knife to level it off.
What Cake Pans do I Need for Valentine’s Day Cake?
This Valentine’s Day Cake recipe uses two 8-inch round cake pans. I love these Fat Daddios pans because they bake evenly and come out cleanly. I have not tried this cake in larger or smaller pans.
Can I Make This Recipe into Cupcakes?
Yes, this Valentine’s Day Cake recipe can be made into cupcakes! You’ll get about 24 cupcakes. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes. Learn more about How to Convert Cake into Cupcakes (and Cupcakes into Cake!) here!
Why is There Coffee in This Chocolate Cake Recipe?
- The coffee helps to enhance the chocolate flavor of the cocoa powder. You won’t taste the coffee, promise.
- If you prefer to skip the coffee, though, simply use 1 cup hot water (not boiling – you don’t want to scramble the eggs!) instead.
- You can also use 1 cup hot water + 1 teaspoon espresso powder to get that similar chocolate-enhancing effect. This is perfect if you don’t want to brew coffee just for a cake.
What is a Crumb Coat?
A crumb coating is a very thin layer of frosting applied to the cake before the final pretty layer is applied. The crumb coat acts as “spackle” to encase the cake and protect the final frosting application from getting any unsightly crumbs in the mix. Basically, it helps that final frosting go on smoothly and cleanly.
Why Do You Refrigerate or Freeze Cake Layers Before Frosting?
This helps the frosting go on more smoothly and evenly, and stops the layers of cake from moving as you apply and smooth out the frosting.
Cute Valentine’s Day Sprinkles
The sprinkles used on the pictures of this Valentine’s Day Cake were purchased at Kroger. These Valentine’s Day sprinkles on Amazon are the closest I can find.
How to Make Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Chocolate-covered strawberries are the perfect way to garnish your Valentine’s Day Cake, and they’re SO easy to make! Learn how to make chocolate-covered strawberries here.
Can I Freeze Valentine’s Day Cake Layers?
Absolutely! Wrap unfrosted, un-cut, cooled Valentine’s Day Cake layers in a few layers of plastic wrap. Place inside a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge (do not defrost at room temperature or you will end up with mushy cake).
More Chocolate Cake Recipes
More Valentine’s Day Desserts
Looking for even more inspiration? Check out ALL our Valentine’s Day Recipes HERE.
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Valentine’s Day Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- Butter, for greasing
- 1 3/4 cups (225 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
- 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cups (64 grams) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup fresh vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, at cool room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
For the strawberry buttercream:
- 6 cups (750 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 4 sticks (452 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup seedless strawberry preserves
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Red gel food coloring, if desired
Chocolate-Covered Strawberries , for garnish
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (8-inch) round cake pans.
- Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add in the salt and whisk to combine.
- In a large measuring cup or small bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With the mixer still on low, add the hot coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Don’t overmix, the batter should be very thin and runny.
- Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. The cakes may sink slightly in the middle because they're so moist. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. Freeze or refrigerate until firm to the touch.
For the buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes until ultra light and smooth. Add in the strawberry preserves, salt, and vanilla and beat on medium for 1 minute. Add about 1/4 teaspoon gel food coloring, if using, and beat until the buttercream is evenly colored. Add more coloring if desired.
Assemble the cake:
- Place the first cold cake layer, flat side up, on a flat surface or cake pedestal. Using an offset spatula, spread about 1/3 of the frosting all over the top of the cake, pushing it all the way past the edges.
- Place the second cake layer on top, flat side up, and spread a very thin coating of frosting all over the top and sides of the cake, to make a crumb coating. When scraping away excess frosting, be careful not to add the crumb frosting back in with the clean frosting. Freeze or refrigerate the cake until the frosting is firm.
- Once the frosting is firm, spread the remaining frosting evenly over the cake, scraping away excess frosting and smoothing imperfections with the offset spatula. Garnish with sprinkles and chocolate-covered strawberries before serving, if desired.
- The frosted cake can be stored at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for up to 3 days.
This recipe was originally published in 2015 and has been updated with gram measurements, recipe improvements, recipe tips, and new photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
This was the perfect Valentine’s Day recipe. The strawberry buttercream was absolutely delicious, and it’s incredible to have a good chocolate cake recipe without a baking bar as those can be expensive or aren’t always on hand. Will be making again!
So beautiful! Great job, Kate! Thanks so much for letting us know!
I’m 13 and bake a lot. I’ve done a lot of your recipes and the whole family loves them. I did this cake in 2 days because I made it in the afternoon and got tired but when it was done it was SO good! I made it for the Superbowl. My cake leaned a little bit but nothing that caused any problems. Overall I loved this!!
I’m 13 and made it for the Superbowl. I made it in 2 days and it was SO good!! Whole family LOVED it. Would make it again. Only thing I didn’t like was that the buttercream was really buttery. I used water intsted of coffee and was still great.
Would this buttercream frosting hold well for an outdoor event? The highest temp being 98F.
Cake would more than likely be inside fridge until cake time.
Hi Lisa! We haven’t tested how well this buttercream holds up in such warm weather, but it should be fine for a bit at that temperature – especially if you’re able to store it in the fridge until shortly before serving. Our best guess is that about an hour out of the fridge will be just fine (as long as it’s not in the direct sunlight). Let us know what you think of this cake once you’ve given it a try 🙂
I made this cake for Valentine’s Day. I doubled the recipe in order to have enough cake to create the a heart shaped cake for a dinner for 10. I followed the recipe exactly as printed.
This cake was a serious amount of work, but it was well worth the effort.
My wife loved it and each of my friends said that it might have been the best cake that they have ever eaten. It was certainly the best chocolate cake that I have ever had, I bought all of the candy decorations online. Beware, the candies make the icing really sweet. However, the buttercream icing with strawberry preserves was delicious.
I will be making a Harley Davidson birthday cake later this month and you can rest assured that this cake recipe will be the base for the cake.
Thank you for sharing such a great recipe.