Sam's Chocolate-Strawberry Birthday Cake

Happy Birthday... 

My honey had a birthday just recently, and although we didn't celebrate "big" by going away for the weekend as we hoped (Sam had to work) or having family and friends over...I can assure you, our party of two was not devoid of celebration, and by the time all was said and done, my Sammy was a very happy, birthday boy ;-).

One of the main highlights of the festivities included indulging (and I do mean indulging) in the white layer cake I made, that had a strawberry cream cheese filling (like the one from the strawberry cream cheese brownie cupcakes), dark chocolate ganache, topped with glazed strawberries.

Just like the cherry chocolate love cake I made for our anniversary, this cake was made with lots of love.  However, what I loved most was the callebaut dark chocolate I used for the ganache from this recipe.

Guys and Dolls, the chocolate ganache was so delicious, I literally and shamelessly licked the whisk clean... Don't judge. Trust me, you would have done the same!

Did I mention the cake layers were brushed with an amaretto syrup?

Oh yeah, this was one sinfully rich and oh so satisfying, edible adventure! 

Like I said before...the birthday boy was very happy!

Thanks and have a great day!

God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. Voltaire  

Sam's Chocolate-Strawberry Cake

The Classic White Layer Cake recipe from my Baking Illustrated book (excellent book) can be found here.

The recipe is for two 9-inch round cake pans.  However, I used two 6-inch pans and made cupcakes with the remaining batter.

Amaretto Syrup

Ingredients

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 cup amaretto

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

To Prepare:

In a medium saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, allow to cool for a few minutes (lukewarm), then add amaretto and vanilla extract. Allow to cool completely before brushing on cake layers.

The Strawberry-Cream Cheese Filling recipe by Martha Stewart can be found here.  Below is my version:

Ingredients

2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled 

To Prepare: 

Put cream cheese, butter, and sugar into mixer bowl; mix until creamy. Mix in vanilla. Puree strawberries in a food processor; strain. Mix puree into cream cheese mixture.  Use immediately or refrigerate airtight up to 3 days; stir before using. 

Chocolate Ganache recipe from Joy of Baking can be found here.  Below is my version:

Ingredients

1 cup of callebaut dark chocolate (or any semisweet or bittersweet chocolate cut into small pieces)

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1 1/2  teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To Prepare:

Place the chocolate in a medium sized heatproof bowl and set aside.  Heat the cream and butter in microwave for about 1 minute, just to a boil (careful not to overheat) or heat in a small saucepan.  Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand.  Do not stir for at least 2-3 minutes.  Then stir gently (to avoid getting air bubbles) with either a spoon or whisk until smooth.  Add vanilla extract. 

This makes enough to cover one 9 inch cake.  It was plenty for my 6 inch cake.  Leftover can be used to make truffles.

I used the strawberry filling in-between the layers and then to crumb coat the cake. The cake was then chilled in fridge for about 1 hour, before covering with the ganache.  I added about 1-2 tablespoons of cream to the remaining ganache, whipped it and put in a piping bag for the lettering and decoration.

Comments

[Monica]

Happy Birthday Sam!!! oh and that cake looks yummm!

[Lisa K.]

Hi babe,

You did it again! I enjoyed this cake so much...it left me wanting more...

[Mom]

Hi Cindy, I finally got to see the pictures of Sam's beautiful and delicious birthday cake. Sam looks very nice in those pictures. Love you both. Mom