This tastefully naked chocolate cake is everything and more for Valentine’s Day. First, it’s naked, second, it’s chocolate, third, it has chocolate. covered. strawberries – the official symbolic food of Valentine’s Day.
I could go into all sorts of naked cake innuendo, but we’ll save that for later.
January seemed to go by slow, yet fast. The beginning dragged on, as it always does at the beginning of the year. The weeks after the holidays are always sort of foggy. But now It’s February and it feels like we’re speeding ahead into 2016.
If you already have plans for Valentine’s Day, add this naked chocolate cake to the mix. If you don’t have plans for Valentine’s Day, plan to make this naked chocolate cake and share it with someone. I wasn’t going to tell you that Adam and I finished this cake in two days – but we did. And it was delicious.
I had thought up this cake quite a while ago, and had been impatiently waiting for February to roll around so I could share it.
I fell in love with the ‘naked’ or ‘bare’ cake craze while planning our wedding. I had wanted a ‘naked’ cake for our wedding. I love the look of naked cakes, with the sides exposed and the frosting rustically layered in between. There are two ways to go about it, one – top the cake layers and leave unfrosted, or two – leave a pseudo ‘crumb coating’ look with a very thin layer of frosting around all sides with cake peeking deliciously through. They’re usually adorned with fresh fruit or flowers and they’re visually stunning.
I like both styles, depending on the overall look you are going for. I ended up making our wedding cake – because, baker. I was actually quite calm the morning before the wedding making the cake, trying not to worry about if it would make it until the next day or not – it did, thank god, avoiding a bridal-meltdown.
This chocolate cake is perfectly moist and light, layered with coconut cream and sliced strawberries and topped with chocolate dipped strawberries – it has all the Valentine’s Day iconic treats, chocolate covered strawberries, whipped cream, and chocolate. The flavours and colours are the perfect pairing for Valentine’s Day. This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday, so you have lots of time to prep and bake this delicious treat to share with your special someone – or, let’s be real, eat it in it’s entirety yourself.
Naked Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour or gluten-free flour blend
3/4 cup dark cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup dairy-free milk
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup boiling water (or fresh, strong brewed coffee)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
Frosting:
1 can coconut cream, chilled (not milk)
Chocolate Covered Strawberries:
4-5 Strawberries, washed and dried
1/4 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
1 tsp. coconut oil
Strawberries, washed and dried and sliced for cake filling.
To Bake:
Line two 6-inch round cake pans with parchment.
Pre-heat oven to 350-degrees.
In medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
Add the chocolate to the coconut oil and microwave on 1-minute intervals until melted. Stir, add in the sugar.
Whisk in the cocoa powder.
Add the eggs, milk and vanilla to a small bowl and whisk. Add to the dry ingredients and blend together. Stir in melted chocolate.
Blend well.
Add the boiling water and mix slowly.
Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Allow to cool completely before removing from pan. Slide knife around the edges and turn out onto cooling rack.
To Assemble:
Heat chocolate in microwave in 1-minute intervals on 50% power until melted. Stir in coconut oil. Dip or drizzle washed and dried strawberries in chocolate and place on parchment paper or foil to set.
Slice tops of cakes flat and even using a serrated knife.
Whip chilled coconut cream with hand mixer, on high until light and fluffy. Place first cake layer on cake plate, top with half of the whipped coconut cream. Using a offset spatula spread evenly. Add sliced strawberries in single layer. Top with second cake layer and rest of coconut cream, spread evenly over top.
Place chocolate covered strawberries on top. Store at room temperature before serving. Place leftovers in refrigerator.
I like to keep a can of coconut cream in the fridge so it’s ready when I need it. If you don’t have a chilled can, just scoop it out into a metal mixing bowl and chill in freezer until you need it.
Cake can be stored in fridge for 2-3 days.
7 Comments
When do we add the sugar in and how much butter do we use to mix in with the chocolate chunks?
I don’t know what the real answer is, but I put the sugar in with the dry ingredients. I didn’t use butter. I assumed the coconut oil “was” the butter. It worked out and was delish!
Thanks – I have updated it!
I think the sugar goes with the flour and the coconuit oil is instead of the butter, you can use one or the other
Thanks – I have updated it!
The ingredients and the directions do not match. It was sooo confusing to follow. I had to keep checking to make sure I didn’t miss something
Thanks – I have updated it!