For our Easter dessert tomorrow I made a cake that my son loves. He adores anything with strawberries…and chocolate…so what goes better than a chocolate cake with strawberry buttercream frosting – with chopped strawberries in the frosting! 🍓

My little granddaughter helped me in the kitchen today. Shes going on 2 years old and it was so much fun having her help me make the cake. She really wanted to just eat the cake batter and lick the spoon – don’t we all??!! 🤣

For the cake recipe, I used 2 boxes of pre-made chocolate cake mix BUT added chocolate chips in it to “make it my own.” If using 2 boxes of cake mix, I would add in about 2 cups of chocolate chips.

Prepare the cake according to box directions. I used 2 cake pans (filled 3/4) and baked for 28 minutes and cooled.

I also had enough to make 6 cupcakes with the rest of the batter.

Once the cake is cooled, it’s time to add the Strawberry Buttercream Frosting.

Homemade Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)

4 cups powdered/confectioners sugar (add more if needed after mixing)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt add more to taste, as needed

2-4 Tablespoons heavy cream or milk

1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries

Optional: Whole strawberries and halves for garnishing the cake

Directions

Place butter in the bowl of a stand alone mixer (or use a large bowl and an electric mixer) and beat until creamy and smooth.

Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and mix until combined.

Add heavy cream or milk and stir.

Add the chopped strawberries and fold into the mixture.

Add more powdered sugar if needed until you get the frosting consistency you desire.

Begin frosting the first layer and then the top layer and the sides. Add the whole and/or chopped strawberries for decoration.