Bethcakes is two years old! Well, it was official back in June. And I made it halfway through July before realizing it! So I’m celebrating a little late, but it’s ok because there’s cake.
When I went to the Southern Blog Society Conference back at the end of June, we had the opportunity to meet and mingle with a ton of brands. One of the stations was Hallmark Signature, which is a really fun and stylish line of cards. They had a bunch on display that we were allowed to take, so obviously I took all the cake/birthday themed cards. 😉
One of the cards had a crazy, bright, and colorful cake on it and I thought, “Omg, I could make this cake!” I had a similar cake stand already, and I figured I could create the triangle design somehow. So I set off to the craft store and got busy baking.
I ended up doing a little mini version of the cake to fit my smaller cake stand, but it was all inspired by this one sparkly and festive card. I would I could have made the whole thing! But let’s be honest, I do not need that much cake to myself, so really it was for the best. 😉
How happy and cute are these cards, right? After the conference, I saw a couple of girls buy frames for the cards they got and I’m totally going to have to steal that idea. They’re too cute to not put on display!
I seriously can’t believe bethcakes is two years old! When I realized that, I actually had to sit there for a moment and count the years because it just didn’t seem right. But it’s true! And it’s been so rewarding and wonderful and I’ve met so many more people than I would have imagined. I’m looking forward to the next few years, which I hope will be just as full of wonderful people, opportunities, and, obviously, cake.
For this carnival-esque cake, I decided to go with my all time favorite chocolate cake recipe. It’s Hershey’s Black Magic Cake, and it’s just so good. People always talk about chocolate cakes being dry, but NOT THIS ONE, friends. It’s soft and chocolaty, which I think has something to do with the fact that it uses oil instead of butter, a whole cup of buttermilk, and a cup of strongly brewed coffee. I used three 6″ cake pans, but it also works with three 8″ pans, the layers will just be thinner and the baking time will vary.
The cake layers are filled with strawberry buttercream (yummm) and the whole thing is covered in chocolate frosting. The piped details are just regular buttercream, the triangles are made of Sugar Sheets (which you can buy at most craft stores), and the sprinkles are from Sweetapolita’s new ridiculously adorable line of sprinkles.
Don’t forget to scroll down past the recipes and enter the giveaway! You need some super cute and cheery cards in your life!
Chocolate Cake with Chocolate and Strawberry Frosting
The best chocolate cake ever with strawberry buttercream and chocolate buttercream
Ingredients
chocolate cake
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup strong black coffee
strawberry buttercream
- 1/2 cup pureed strawberries
- 1/2 cup 1 stick butter, room temp
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- Pink food coloring optional
chocolate frosting
- 1 cup butter room temp
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3-4 tbsp milk
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
chocolate cake
- First, make a pot of strong coffee and measure out 1 cup. Then spray or line three 8" cake pans and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Carefully whisk together.
- In another medium bowl, combine sugar, oil, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed with an electric mixer until incorporated and smooth.
- Add half of the coffee and half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Repeat with the second half of the coffee and dry ingredients.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
strawberry buttercream
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring strawberry puree to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until thickened and about 1/4 cup remains. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Cream butter in a medium-sized bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Next, add 2 tbsp strawberry reduction and mix until incorporated. Add powdered sugar and mix on low until mostly combined. Then mix on medium-high speed until incorporated. Mix in a dab of pink food coloring if you'd like!
chocolate buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer, cream butter on medium-high speed until smooth. Add cocoa powder and half of milk; mix well. Add half of powdered sugar and mix on low speed at first, and then medium speed until incorporated. Add the second half of the powdered sugar and milk, mix until fluffy.
assembly
- Spread a thin layer of strawberry frosting between cake layers. Use the rest of the strawberry frosting as a crumb coat for the whole cake. Chill the cake in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. (I used this time to make the chocolate frosting.) Spread the chocolate frosting around the outside of the cake. (This is a helpful tutorial for smooth frosting!)
- To make the triangles, I used Sugar Sheets, which you can purchase at most craft stores. For the piped decorations, I used regular buttercream (I cut this recipe in half for a smaller batch) tinted pink and yellow. Use a petal tips for the ribbon and a small round tip for the dots!
Notes
Recipe from bethcakes. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without permission. If you would like to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.
Okay, so how would you like to win some of these pretty cards!? Enter below to win a Hallmark Signature Prize Pack! (Giveaway starts at 9am!)
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Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Congratulations on Bethcakes being two. 🙂
Thanks for always being supportive and being a great taste tester! 🙂
What a gorgeous cake! And happy blogoversary too, this looks like the perfect way to celebrate 🙂
Thanks so much, June!
Happy anniversary!!! And this cake is the perfect way to celebrate, late or not! So festive and fun!
Thanks so much, Ashley! 🙂
Gorgeous! Congrats on 2 years of amazingness!
Wow, the collegiate baker grew up into bethcakes! Beautiful cake and love your blog!
I love these cards and I love your cake even more! Such a great job Beth!
Congrats! That cake is stunning and I love the creativity involved in replicating it from the card- it looks fabulous 🙂
What a gorgeous cake Beth!! So beautiful! And happy blog anniversary! It’s been great following along. Also I’m obsessed with those sprinkles from her store 🙂
This is a beautiful and delicious sounding cake! Congrats we are so proud of you!
Yay, congrats, Beth! Happy Happy Blog Anniversary! This cake is the perfect way to celebrate! It’s so gorgeous and fun!
Happy blog anniversary!!! OMG this cake is to-die-for cute. Love it, and I love that it’s inspired by that cute card. Can’t wait to see what you do next 🙂
This cake is so gorgeous Beth! Congrats on two years!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This cake is ADORABLE!!!
Happy blog anniversary!
Congrats on 2 years! Can’t wait to see what the next year holds for you and your blog!
Happy blogiversary! Your cake is too stinkin’ cute, beautifully executed!
xo Liz | Pretty Sweet Life
Congrats to you! It’s hard to believe your blog is only 2 years old, you do such awesome work!
Yahoo! What a fabulous cake to celebrate your blog birthday! And what a fun source of inspiration too! Looking forward to many more years of deliciousness! And hope we can meet in person soon! XO
a second birthday showstopper! such a cute cake and i love how you were inspired by a card – the cake is so whimsical, colourful and fun! congrats on 2 years! ^__^